The University of Wisconsin wasn’t going to let another one slip away.
Missing multiple opportunities to win in regulation, the Badgers controlled the overtime session on both ends of the floor to earn a 79-74 victory over Penn State in a matchup between two bubble teams at the Bryce-Jordan Center in State College, PA.
It’s the fifth Quad-1 victory of the season for Wisconsin (14-9, 6-7 Big Ten) and a victory that a lot of players had a critical hand in.
Chucky Hepburn, who was scrutinized for his missed two shots that could have forced overtime Sunday, scored a game-high 19 points, 16 that came after halftime and included a step-back three-pointer with 33 seconds left.
Connor Essegian had 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting, his second-best shooting percentage of the season. Senior Tyler Wahl had 16 points, six rebounds, and a career-high eight assists while fellow forward Steven Crowl finished with 11 points (5-for-5), eight rebounds, and four assists.
Registering 16 assists on 28 field goals, UW shot a season-best 52.8 percent from the field. The Badgers were 3-for-4 from the field in overtime with scoring from five different players.
The best three-point shooting team in the Big Ten in terms of percentage and volume, Penn State (14-10, 5-8) went 7-for-9 in the second half to erase multiple seven-point deficits but went 0-for-5 from the perimeter in overtime. Jalen Pickett had a team-high 17 points before fouling out with 24.4 seconds left in overtime, sending Penn State to its 18th loss in the last 19 games against Wisconsin.
Unable to hit the critical shot in Sunday’s 54-52 loss to Northwestern, the Badgers didn’t miss three shots in a row and shot 50 percent in the second half but couldn’t close out Penn State in regulation.
Hepburn did his best to try, multiple times. After Penn State took a 62-59 lead with 4:18 to go (its first advantage since the game’s opening minutes), Hepburn – who missed multiple game-tying shots in the final minute Sunday - drew an offensive foul on Pickett outside the restricted circle and promptly hit a three-pointer off a handoff from Steven Crowl, who created space for him to get off the shot.
After Essegian forced a turnover off an entry pass, Hepburn exercised some of Sunday’s demons by hitting a step-back three-pointer with 33 seconds left. The lead was short-lived, as Seth Lundy hit a three of his own in the face of Max Klesmit with 23.1 seconds left.
Hepburn couldn’t make lightning strike twice, as his step-back shot missed and Carter Gilmore’s off-balanced putback went off the rim.
What it means: Two teams firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble (on the outside looking in), the Badgers sweeping the season series from Penn State could pay dividends when it comes to seeding in the Big Ten Tournament and a potential NCAA bid.
Star of the game: Overtime has been mostly good to the Badgers this season. Since dropping the heartbreaker to No.3 Kansas in the Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals, Wisconsin has won three straight in the extra session with all victories coming over Quad-1 opponents (at Marquette, at Iowa).
Stat of the game: Penn State finished 9-for-23 from three-point range, the fifth-fewest perimeter attempts the Nittany Lions have had this season.
Reason to be Concerned: Wisconsin finished 12-for-19 from the free-throw line (63.2 percent), the fourth straight game the Badgers finished under 65 percent from the line.
Don’t overlook: A lot of scoring from the starters, but Jordan Davis delivered eight points, five rebounds, and a steal in 18 minutes off the bench, as well as frustrating Pickett throughout the first half.
What’s next: Wisconsin now travels to the other side of the Big Ten footprint when it takes on Nebraska in Lincoln Saturday afternoon in the only regular-season meeting between the two schools. Guaranteed to have its fifth-straight non-winning conference season, the Huskers (11-14, 4-10) are tied for 12th place in the league and have finished last or tied for last in each of the last three seasons. Senior forward Derrick Walker leads the Huskers in both points and rebounds. Nebraska ended a seven-game losing streak to Wisconsin with a 74-73 victory in the regular-season final last March, costing UW the outright conference title.
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