MADISON, Wis. – The bevy of close losses the University of Wisconsin suffered through in 2022-23 were all painful in their own way, but the pair of one-possession losses to Northwestern were especially hard to stomach. They exercised a lot of those demons on Saturday.

Combining timely defense and apt offensive rebounding, No.15 Wisconsin closed the game on an 8-0 run to hold off Northwestern for a 71-60 victory at the Kohl Center Saturday afternoon.

After scoring 18 points in Wednesday’s second half, Max Klesmit stayed hot, pouring in a season-high 24 points on 9-for-13 shooting. UW (13-3, 5-0 Big Ten) needed every point to counter Northwestern All-Big Ten guard Boo Buie, who scored 22 of his own and twice helped the Wildcats cut down a pair of 12-point leads.

Looking to win three straight over UW for the first time since 1993-94, the Wildcats (12-3, 3-2) forged a pair of ties in the final three minutes but couldn’t pull ahead thanks to Wisconsin making opportunistic plays.

After Northwestern tied the game at 61, Klesmit hit a turnover jumper in the lane and, following a Wildcats basket, A.J. Storr (14 points) hit a high-arching jumper to put UW ahead 65-63.

A pair of standout defensive plays on the next possession sealed the victory. After Steven Crowl blocked Matthew Nicholson’s shot between the rim and the backboard, resulting in a jump ball, Chucky Hepburn’s ball pressure on Buie resulted in a steal for Storr. Buie was forced to foul Storr in transition, and the two made free throws pushed the lead to 67-63.

Crowl blocked Buie on the ensuing possession, and UW corralled a pair of offensive rebounds, forcing Northwestern to foul and allowing UW to ice the game from the line.

UW shot 22 of 44 from the field and 20 of 26 (76.9 percent) from the free throw line.

The first half was dominated by Buie and Wisconsin’s turnovers. After committing over five turnovers against the Buckeyes, Wisconsin had eight in the first 17 possessions. Once UW cleaned up the miscues, committing only two in their final 14, the offense took off.

UW closed the half with a 20-9 run, including a 14-2 stretch which was dominated by UW guard play. With a mixture of drives to the rim, perimeter makes, and two Hepburn steals, Connor Essegian, Hepburn, and Klesmit contributed 12 points on the run.

Buie scored 15 points in the first half but didn’t get much help. His teammates shot 4-for-18 in the opening half, registering more fouls (11) than points (10).

What it means: Northwestern swept Wisconsin last season by a combined five points because the Badgers made the wrong plays in crunch time. The Badgers didn’t make the same mistake this time and are now 5-0 in Big Ten play since the 2007-08 season when UW swept the Big Ten titles.

Star of the game: After scoring 20 points in his first three Big Ten games, Klesmit has scored 42 in his last three halves of basketball.

Stat of the game: UW had played in 35 games decided by five points or less in the previous two seasons. UW technically still hasn’t played in one, as the eight-point margin equaled the smallest of the season for the Badgers.

Reason to be Concerned: Wisconsin got 12 points and six fouls from its bench, leading UW to rely heavily on the starters, all of whom played at least 28 minutes.

Don’t overlook: Tyler Wahl only attempted four shots but he finished with 11 points because of his ability to draw fouls against Northwestern’s frontcourt, leading him to go 7-for-11 from the foul line.

What’s next: Likely to see a big jump in its AP ranking, Wisconsin heads to the road to face Penn State in State College Tuesday night (8 p.m./BTN). Under first-year head coach Mike Rhodes, the Nittany Lions (8-8, 2-3) score 0.7 points per game more than the Badgers but give up 6.7 more per game than UW. Kayne Clark (18.8 ppg) has made an impact since transferring from Winthrop and has paired nicely with VCU transfer guard Ace Baldwin Jr. (14.4 ppg). UW has won 17 of 18 games against the Nittany Lions, including the last five.

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