MADISON, Wis. – It wasn’t viewed as a must-win situation, not in the eyes of the University of Wisconsin, the Big Ten standings, or, as Greg Gard joked, his sleep patterns or his receding hairline. But after a tough 10 days around the program, UW knows that its 63-60 victory over Penn State to halt a three-game losing skid was cathartic in a multitude of ways.

The Badgers (12-5, 4-3 Big Ten) triumphed in a close game after letting one slip away last week against Michigan State, got senior Tyler Wahl back in the starting lineup and contributing, and started to return to the rhythm they were playing with last month.

“Our players needed this because they’ve been putting forth everything they have,” Gard said. “I know it hasn’t been easy without Tyler. It probably wasn’t going to be easy with Tyler, but to see them get rewarded and the smiles in the locker room and the celebrations, you stay the course. Don’t have a panic attack.”

Here are my takeaways from the Kohl Center.

Wahl still doesn’t appear to be 100 percent physically recovered from his rolled right ankle suffered on January 3 (“good enough,” he claims). The box score tells differently.

Having gone two weeks without playing a game and yet to go through a full practice, Wahl logged 33 minutes and, while going 3-for-10 from the floor, had some critical plays in the second half to boost Wisconsin’s offense.

His steal and Euro-step finish at the rim got the crowd buzzing, pushing UW’s second-half-opening run to 7-0 to retake the lead. He faced double teams in the post but was able to either hit Chucky Hepburn for a kickout three-point make or battle through double teams for three-point play opportunities.

“The first two games, it wasn’t too hard to watch,” Wahl said. “I feel like we were doing our thing and just didn’t pull it out. A few late stretches that we didn’t close it out but for the most part, those games when I watching, I didn’t feel too bad. The guys were playing well, playing hard, just didn’t execute down the stretch.

“That Indiana game was tough to watch. I just feel like it slipped out of our hands, and we let it get out of control. It’s good to take that as a learning experience, sit on the bench and watch. The first time I’ve been able to do that in a while. To come out here and give it my all today was really something special.”

It appeared only a matter of time before Connor Essegian stepped into a bigger role within Wisconsin’s rotation. The freshman has established himself as one of the Big Ten’s best reserves, leading all non-starters with a 10.5 scoring average. After being one of the few bright spots in Saturday’s 18-point loss at Indiana, coming away with his first collegiate double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds), Essegian earned his first start and finished with 10 points, chased around senior Andrew Funk throughout the night (4-for-11), and finished a team-best plus-10.

“He’s really grown over these last few games with me out,” Wahl said. “He’s taken a bigger step. Going into Big Ten, it’s definitely gotten a little more physical. He’s taken that head on. He’s taken it as a challenge, never backs down.”

Jordan Davis ended 2022 averaging 7.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, but the junior had struggled without Wahl in the lineup and had seen both categories dip. Davis had gone scoreless the last two games with only two shot attempts, and Gard was poignant in his remarks Saturday that Davis needed to be more active with his cuts, diving for loose balls, rebounding, and defense.

Told of the switch by Gard on Sunday, Davis put his demotion aside and delivered with four points and six rebounds. He cleaned up an offensive rebound with a one-handed putback in the first half and, inserted back in the starting lineup after Max Klesmit (elbow to the mouth) was ruled out after halftime, hit a pull-up jumper with 4:27 to go to tie the score at 53.

Wisconsin outscored Penn State by nine when Davis was on the floor, a plus/minus second only to Essegian.

“I thought he responded really well yesterday in practice,” Gard said. “He was in a good place after I told him on Sunday I was making the change, and I thought he practiced well. He was in a good place mentally and with Max going down, we needed him and he stepped up and did some good things.”

After Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis, the Big Ten’s preseason player of the year, put Steven Crowl through a clinic on both ends of the floor, Gard put it mildly in saying his junior forward struggled with the matchup. More blatantly, Crowl stunk. He was much more asserted against Penn State’s smaller lineup.

Leading UW in points (8) and rebounds (6) in the first half, Crowl hit a three-pointer and secured four rebounds in the first two-plus minutes. Not only did that give him his second double-double of the season, but Crowl’s play also helped Wisconsin jump start the second half with an 8-0 run, its most sustained offensive success in recent outings.

“He’s turning into a grown man,” Wahl said of Crowl. “He’s turning into a force in this league. I’m excited that he’s got a few more years left here.”

For the sixth time in the last seven games, Crowl reached double figures in the second half alone as he finished with his second double-double of the season.

“It felt good to get those couple buckets right away,” Crowl said. “I know I’ve been struggling in the first half of some games and turn it on in the second half, so I want to be more aggressive in the first half. I think that’s for anyone. If you see your first couple shots go down, you get more confidence and that carries on throughout the game.”

After the low-post physicality (and lack of three-point shooting) the Badgers experienced against Indiana, Wisconsin had a completely different prep with Penn State’s perimeter-centric offense. The Nittany Lions were 12th nationally in three-point attempts (28.1 per game) and percentage (39.5). Penn State hit the latter mark (40 percent) but UW ran them off the line and only allowed 20 attempts (8-for-20).

UW achieved it despite not going through a full practice during the two days of prep, choosing to do a simple walkthrough Sunday and low possession practice Monday to recover from the weekend.

“They can’t make them if they can’t get them off,” Gard said. “If you make a mistake and get out of sorts a little bit and start chasing, we had to play a lot of things two-verses-two as much as possible and not rely on help, which is contrary to how you play most teams. This is an unconventional team in our league with how they play, and our guys did a good job in following the plan.”

Jalen Pickett leads Penn State in virtually every category and did so again Tuesday, finishing with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists in playing all 40 minutes. He looked to have an easy two points to put the Nittany Lions up one with 53 seconds left until Hepburn stood his ground.

Having beaten Wahl off a screen, Pickett charged toward the hoop as Hepburn slid over from the low block. The result was a big offensive foul call and an empty possession, a play Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry referred to as one of the biggest plays of the game and Gard referred to as game-winning.

“I was kind of surprised he did get the charge because he’s a very smart player (and) plays off two feet,” Hepburn said. “I just saw that his head was down dribbling and I was able to slide there and take the charge."

Following a UW empty possession, giving Penn State the chance to take the lead and leave as little as 1.5 seconds off the clock, Penn State’s Andrew Funk missed a good three-point shot and Hepburn out-positioned guard Camren Wynter for the rebound and drew the foul. Hepburn made both free throws and UW survived Funk’s deep three-point heave to force overtime.

“A week ago, we couldn’t get stops against Michigan State at the end, and tonight we were able to get stops,” Gard said. “Hopefully that shows the growth of a team and the understanding how important stringing together consecutive stops there at the end.”

8 – Made three-pointers for Penn State, tied for its second-fewest all season.

19-0 – Wisconsin has won 22 consecutive home games against Penn State, including a perfect 19-0 at the Kohl Center.

15 – Wisconsin forced 10 turnovers and outscored Penn State, 15-0, in points off turnovers.

4 – Neither team led by more than four points in the second half.

2:38 – Penn State didn’t score on its final four possessions.

41.2 – Wisconsin finished 7-for-17 from three-point range, besting 40 percent from the perimeter for the ninth time this season.

14.5 – After Penn State shot 52.0 percent in the first half, the Badgers held the Nittany Lions to 37.5 percent in the second half, including 3-for-11 from three-point range.

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