MADISON, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin wasn’t going to shed any tears hosting a Rutgers squad that came into the Kohl Center limping with three straight losses and down a pair of starters.

The Badgers opted to give them a gift anyway.

Failing to score in the final four possessions, Wisconsin missed another opportunity to enhance its fleeting NCAA Tournament profile, further damaging its postseason chances with a 58-57 loss to the Scarlet Knights Saturday afternoon.

Instead of getting back to .500 in the conference and picking up a 10th Quad 1/2 victory of the season, the Badgers (15-11, 7-9 Big Ten) remain in 10th place in the Big Ten and are teetering on the edge of having to play in the opening round of the conference tournament for the first time in school history.

Once 11-2 and ranked No.14 in the country, the Badgers have lost nine of 11.

Here are my takeaways from the Kohl Center.

Playing a physical team like Rutgers usually equals a low-possession game for Wisconsin. The Badgers had 56 possessions on Saturday and while there were plenty of things wrong in the first 50-plus possessions that put them at a disadvantage, it’s the final stretch run on both ends of the floor that proved problematic.

Start with the defensive end, which was much better after halftime. Rutgers averaged 1.333 points per possession in the first half and dropped to .759 points in the second half, but the Scarlet Knights scored on consecutive dunks while taking advantage of switches or missed assignments. Starting with 6-11 Cliff Omoruyi getting an entry pass and dunking on the 6-2 Chucky Hepburn and ending with nobody boxing out Aundre Hyatt for a putback on an offensive rebound, that mini 4-0 run was the difference in the game.

With Hepburn struggling and having been put in multiple game-winning or game-tying situations during Big Ten play, the Badgers opted to run something that gave Connor Essegian the opportunity. UW got the look it wanted, an open runner in the lane off the hand of Essegian. But Essegian’s attempt was too strong off the back iron and his three-point attempt with 1.4 seconds left was partially blocked by Omoruyi to end the game.

“He’s made that runner before,” Head coach Greg Gard said of Essegian. “Omoruyi made a heck of a play to come from the paint to come out and block it on the second one. The ball got to where it needed to. The ball doesn’t go in.”

UW missed five shots on its final four possessions, with only Essegian’s runner being a two-point attempt.

Essegian was the savior after scoring a career-high 23 points against Michigan Wednesday, a game UW won despite missing its final 15 shots from the field.

Including his two misses on the final possession, Essegian finished 0-for-10 from the floor, 0-for-7 from three-point range and two points, all career worsts for him. He also struggled defensively on Cam Spencer, who hit his first six shots and scored 19 of Rutgers' 36 first-half points.

“Connor has been having a great season, playing at a high level, an elite shooter, I just wanted to make sure he didn’t get any clean looks,” Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said. “It’s hard to do because they’ve got a lot of other great players, too … They have a lot of weapons from three-point land.”

Hepburn played only 23 minutes, a season-low, because of foul trouble and finished 2-for-7 from the floor and 2-for-6 from the perimeter. Not only did his shots appear off, but Hepburn’s passes were also far from crisp and his frustration factor as he entered and exited the floor had the appearance that he wanted to be anywhere else than the Kohl Center.

On the other hand, Kamari McGee delivered a spark off the bench for the second consecutive game. After scoring six points in roughly 14 minutes Wednesday against Michigan, McGee delivered nine in a season-high 22 minutes and scored a season-best nine points.

With the offense in a 2-for-21 lull, McGee hit a three-pointer from the corner and assisted on a three-pointer by Jordan Davis two possessions later. UW scored nine points in that three-possession stretch bookended by McGee’s plays.

Despite Wisconsin outscoring Rutgers by seven with McGee on the court in the second half, Gard opted to substitute Hepburn and his four fouls back into the game for McGee in the final 2:21. Hepburn missed the only shot he took and is now 11-for-37 (29.7 percent) over the last three games.

“I wanted to go with a guy who has been there,” Gard said. “I have faith in Chucky, specifically on the defensive end. He’s made big plays. He got out of rhythm with those three fouls in the first half, and I felt never was really in rhythm. Coming down the stretch the last few possessions, have my main guys on the floor if I can.”

Neither Essegian nor Hepburn was made available to the media.

With the NBA on its all-star break, Wisconsin was able to honor All-American Johnny Davis pregame, making the guard the team’s honorary captain and presenting him with his 2022 Big Ten championship ring.

Call it a coincidence that twin brother Jordan had one of his best games of the season with him in the stands.

Davis played 20 minutes due to the ineffectiveness of the starters and scored 14 points to lead UW in scoring, including 11 in the first half that kept the Badgers afloat.

He added four rebounds and was 3-for-6 from three-point range. He was 1-for-3 in the second half but helped UW shut down Spencer, who managed only three points in the second half.

“I have a lot of confidence in myself to make the right shot, make the right reads,” Davis said. “Same with the other guys in the locker room. I trust all these guys. I trust them to make the right decision. You got to stay positive. It’s a grind, so you got to keep a positive mindset.”

We’ve known for months the Badgers aren’t magically going to get bigger in the low post, but it has become crystal clear the guards aren’t going to change the way they are going to play, which is avoiding contact and shooting perimeter shots.

Wisconsin attempted 21 two-point shots compared to 36 three-point shots, a surprising number considering the Badgers never trailed by more than seven and weren’t in desperation mode. Furthermore, UW only scored two points in the paint in the second half and attempted three free throws, appearing content to try and get themselves going offensively with a perimeter shot rather than drive in the lane and either convert at the rim or draw a foul.

Steven Crowl had eight points and 11 rebounds but was just 3-for-8 from the floor. Tyler Wahl had seven points, six assists, and six rebounds but only shot the ball five times fighting through double teams.

“They weren’t going to let Steve and Tyler operate one-on-one very often,” Gard said. “That’s why you had so many opportunities from three because the paint was jammed up. Whether they sent a straight double team or they were digging real hard and rotating, there wasn’t a lot of daylight in there for those guys most of the day.”

Multiple times in the second half players drove into the lane and appeared to have the opportunity for a decent shot at the rim, only to pass it out to the perimeter and have an empty possession. There were also several possessions where UW didn’t touch the post, kept the ball moving on the perimeter, and started trying to create a shot when the shot clock was close to expiring, forcing a rushed attempt.

It’s the same issues that have plagued this team for the last two months, and it seems like the players are unwilling to or unable to change it consistently, playing well one game and reverting to old ways the next.

UW has shot less than 40 percent in three consecutive games and 10 times in the last 13 outings, averaging 25.1 points in the paint and 7.6 points from the free-throw line.

It’s not winning basketball, which is why the Badgers are in the position that they are in by alternating wins and losses.

2-13 – Combined three-point shooting from Essegian and Hepburn, UW’s top two perimeter shooters at over 42 percent.

10:00 – Amount of time Wisconsin led on Saturday.

6:26 – Longest gap between field goals in the second half for the Badgers, a span of eight missed shots. UW also had a 4:06 gap without a field goal that included seven straight misses.

9-4 – Offensive rebound edge won by Wisconsin.

8-2 – Second-chance points edge won by Rutgers.

3-10 – Wisconsin’s record when trailing at halftime this season. The Badgers are 12-1 this season when ahead or tied at halftime.

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