MADISON, Wis. – The ACC/Big Ten Challenge is ending at the right time for the University of Wisconsin. The Badgers likely have no desire to ever see Wake Forest on a basketball court again.

The biggest nemesis the Badgers have faced in the 24 years of the made-for-TV event, the Demon Deacons got the better of Wisconsin one more time with a 78-75 victory at the Kohl Center.

Improving to 4-0 against the Badgers in the Challenge, Wake Forest (6-1) got most of the offense it needed from Tyree Appleby, who dazzled by scoring 20 of his 32 points in the second half and going 11-for-16 from the field.

Trailing by four points with 2:38 remaining, Appleby’s three-point play cut the lead to one and Damari Monsanto (13 points) hit a contested turnaround jumper to put the Demon Deacons up one with 1:33 remaining.

Tyler Wahl converted both bonus free throws to give UW the lead back with 51 seconds remaining, but Cameron Hildreth (15 points) nailed a fading jumper with 34 seconds to flip the lead back.

Wahl’s shot off the glass failed to fall with 15 seconds left and Wake Forest received possession after a lengthy video review, and UW (5-2) never had another shot to take the lead.

Wisconsin didn’t make a field goal for the final 2:38, while Wake Forest went 3-for-4 from the field over that stretch to improve its second-half shooting percentage to 56.0 percent to lock up the win.

The offense was not entirely to blame for Wisconsin. Chucky Hepburn had a season-high 21 points buoyed by five three-pointers, Wahl had 12 of his 17 in the second half, forward Steven Crowl finished with a season-high 15 points and added a team-high seven rebounds, and freshman Connor Essegian shook off foul trouble to score all 12 of his points after halftime.

UW tried to pull away multiple times in the second half, first with a 10-2 run early in the half that began with two three-pointers from Hepburn and two buckets from Wahl, and then a 9-0 sprint that was boosted by a pair of three-pointers from Essegian and one from Crowl to take a 57-52 lead with 8:05 remaining.

Appleby made sure Wisconsin couldn’t run away and hide with three-pointers on three consecutive possessions that cut UW’s lead to 64-63 with five minutes remaining.

Wake Forest was a bit of a mystery entering the night considering the Demon Deacons’ strength of schedule to this point was ranked 215th in the country. Playing an easy road evidently built its shooting confidence. After missing its first shot, Wake Forest made nine straight shots by going 6-for-6 on layups and dunks and 3-for-3 on three-point range. They were averaging an obscene 1.75 points per possession, yet never pulled away.

That was the theme of the first half, neither team taking advantage of one another. When the Demon Deacons finally cooled, missing six straight shots in just under five minutes and 11 of 12, the Badgers committed five turnovers in 5:16, including three in 73 seconds, that keep the lead within five points for the final 12+ minutes of the half. UW went scoreless for 7:32 of that stretch.

UW allowed Wake Forest to shoot 51.7 percent in the first half but only trailed by three thanks to Hepburn hitting a halfcourt three-pointer at the buzzer.

What it means: Starting to receive votes in the Associated Press poll after its third-place finish in the Battle 4 Atlantis, Wisconsin was let down by its team defense down the stretch run and will regret not taking advantage offensively when Wake Forest was struggling in the first half.

Star of the game: Breaking out of his funk with a season-high 17 points against USC Friday, Hepburn shouldered the burden offensively by attempting season-high in shots (18) and three-point attempts (12) while adding three rebounds, three steals, and two steals.

Stat of the game: With the Big Ten’s television deal with ESPN expiring after this season and not being renewed, this year marked the end of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Wisconsin finished 12-12 all-time in the event with four of those losses coming to the Demon Deacons. Only Purdue (12-9) has a better record in the made-for-TV event.

Reason to be Concerned: Wisconsin senior guard Jahcobi Neath likely had this game circled on its calendar when it was announced in the spring. Neath played two seasons in Winston-Salem before transferring to Madison, but Neath missed his fourth straight game with knee soreness.

Don’t overlook: Wisconsin ranked 12th nationally in turnovers per game but was plus-20 (44-24) in the Bahamas, averaging just 8.0 TOs per game and forcing 14.7 per game. UW surpassed its average of 9.5 per game early in the second half but the offense committed only two turnovers the final 15:56 and finished the game with 12.

What’s next: Wisconsin renews its I-94 rivalry with Marquette on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on FS1. Marquette (6-2) opened plenty of eyes nationally Tuesday when the Golden Eagles thumped No.6 Baylor, 96-70, leading by 26 at the break. It was the biggest win over a top-10 school in 51 years and improved Marquette to 6-0 at home. UW leads the all-time series, 69-59, but is 0-2 against MU at Fiserv Forum.

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