Quick Hits: Wisconsin's plunge continues with a 54-52 loss to Northwestern
MADISON, Wis. – Despite having led for just a total of four minutes and one second in Sunday evening's tilt against Northwestern, Wisconsin probably should have came out on top against Wildcats. And yet, it certainly feels like the team let a golden opportunity to build momentum get away.
Returning home after playing three of the last four away from the Kohl Center, Wisconsin (13-9, 5-7) fell to the Wildcats (16-7, 7-5), 54-52.
With the loss, UW was swept by Northwestern for the first time since the 1995-1996 season. Part of a crowded middle of the conference, the Badgers fell to 5-7 in league play and find themselves tied with Penn State for 11th place.
With three-point shooting becoming a strength of the team this season, the Badgers - specifically Tyler Wahl and Steven Crowl - did a nice job passing out of double teams and finding open shooters. With that, freshman Connor Essegian was the beneficiary and put together another solid outing with 15 points, all of which came from behind the three-point line.
Against Northwestern, the team hoisted 23 shots from beyond the arc. Essegian (5-11) and Chucky Hepburn (3-5) led Wisconsin from three and paced the team with 15 and 17 points, respectively.
With Max Klesmit in the lineup after missing the first meeting, he helped limit Chase Audige (5-13) to 11 points and Boo Buie (4-10) to 13 points. The duo also turned it over four times after combining for just a single turnover in the first matchup. The two were a combined 13-of-30 to score 36 of Northwestern’s 66 points in the first matchup.
It was a game of runs with the Wildcats pulling ahead 14-6 and 22-15 early before the Badgers responded with a 7-2 and 8-4 run. To open the second half, Wisconsin forced three turnovers and hit a pair of threes to take a three-point lead.
Northwestern appeared to pull away with a 48-42 edge, but a short jumper from Hepburn with 3:21 to play capped a 7-0 run to give UW a one-point lead. Another Hepburn basket with 55 seconds left was the lone field goal UW scored in the final three minutes.
What it means: Wisconsin is unable to stack consecutive wins. With multiple projections having UW on the wrong side of the bubble, the Badgers weren't able to eke out a victory.
Star of the game: Freshman Connor Essegian put together another solid shooting night with five triples to finish with 15. His relocation and cutting has consistently flashed throughout the season. His final basket brought UW within one after it was down as much as six late.
Stat of the game: Free throw line continues to haunt Wisconsin. The team finished the game 5-of-11 from the line. Wahl was 1-of-4 from and Essegian failed to cash in on the front end of a one-and-one with Wisconsin down by a point at the time.
Reason to be Concerned: Wahl continues to struggle. Since returning from injury against Penn State, he is averaging just 8.8 points per game and has combined to score 19 points in the past three games. Against Northwestern, the senior big finished with just one rebound, four assists and was 2-of-5 from the floor for five points.
Don’t overlook: Wisconsin did a much better job of handling the double teams in the post. Steven Crowl (4) and Tyler Wahl (4) combined to tally eight of the team's 13 assists. For a team that needs to consistent play through the post, that kind of performance from the team's upperclassmen is a welcome sight for Greg Gard.
What’s next: Wisconsin hits the road once for a pair of games. The contest against Northwestern began a string of three contests in seven days with a bout against Penn State on Wednesday up next, followed by a road tilt against Nebraska on Saturday. The two teams are currently in 11th and 12th place, respectively, with the Cornhuskers knocking off the Nittany Lions, 72-63, Sunday afternoon. The Badgers have won 17 of the last 18 meetings against Penn State going into Wednesday matchup.
_________________________________________________
*Chat about this article in The Badgers' Den
*Check out our videos, interviews, and Q&As on our YouTube channel
*Subscribe and listen to the BadgerBlitz.com podcast (as seen on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts)
*Follow us on Twitter: @McNamaraRivals, @TheBadgerNation, @RaulV45, @pete_brey12, @seamus_rohrer
*Like us on Facebook