Punched in the gut the day before, letting a winnable game against No.3 Kansas slip away in regulation and overtime, the big question was how would Wisconsin and its young roster respond. The answer: beautifully.

Seeing Chucky Hepburn break his mini-slump and tightening the clamps defensively, the Badgers earned third place in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament with a 64-59 victory over USC in The Bahamas.

Wisconsin won the battle in the paint (26-12), averaged over a point per possession, and showed they are only scratching the surface of how good they could be this season.

Here are my takeaways from Wisconsin’s final game at Atlantis.

After going 2-for-9 from the floor in the overtime loss to Kansas, Hepburn’s phone was constantly buzzing. Not necessarily from friends or family, but from teammates and head coach Greg Gard trying to install some confidence for an important matchup the following day.

It was evident that their words carried an impact because Hepburn “just play(ed) ball” against the Trojans with a season-high 17 points that came in a variety of ways. His three three-pointers in the first half were more than his previous four games when he made only two on 12 attempts. He turned aggressive in the second half, scoring four baskets on a mixture of jumpers and layups, the latter being the area of one of his biggest struggles this season.

“It definitely feels good to be back in a rhythm,” Hepburn said. “I thank my teammates for having the confidence in me to be able to go out and score. Tyler (Wahl) was texting me before the game today and I really felt that. That gave me a lot of confidence knowing that guys believed in me.”

Showing a fearless that appeared to waver late in Thursday’s overtime loss to Kansas, Hepburn’s drive into lane traffic and floater put UW up 62-57 with just over a minute left. He tried to do the same thing on the next possession, and it didn’t work, but credit must be given for his willingness to be aggressive.

Whether the shot selection was the right one or not, Hepburn’s steal – one of the biggest assets to his game – was the play of the game. Reading USC guard Drew Peterson’s tendencies, Hepburn stole the ball in one-on-one defense, drove to the other basket, pumped faked him, and finished in the low block to seal the game with 11 seconds left.

“I recognized that (Peterson) had been dribbling his ball with his right hand the whole game, never going back to his left,” Hepburn said. “I knew we had a foul, so I just made a play on the ball to be able to steal it.”

Hepburn looked hesitant and off his usual tempo in the last several outings, a sign to Gard that his starting point guard was overthinking instead of letting plays come naturally. As Wisconsin continues to close the gap left by All-American Johnny Davis, Hepburn playing within himself is the best weapon for the Badgers moving forward.

“Every player goes through rough spots,” Gard said. “you’re not going to play on a high level like he has all the time. There is going to be downs, peaks and valleys, and you try to minimize how deep you go when it is a valley. For him, just to stay positive and not overthink it.”

The Badgers knew they were going to have their hands full with guards Boogie Ellis and Drew Peterson, USC’s two leading scorers at 18.1 and 14.7 points per game, respectively. The only two Trojans averaging double figures, the guards were the only two to finish in double figures against the Badgers (Peterson 17, Ellis 13) but the duo appeared to be headed for a much larger point total.

Peterson finished with a double-double (10 rebounds) and splashed his fifth three-pointer (17 point) with 5:42 remaining. He missed his next three shots and committed his fifth turnover when Hepburn picked his pocket with 15 seconds left.

Ellis had 13 points and generally got the better of Hepburn, especially with his perimeter looks (3-for-6). The roles were reversed after halftime, as Ellis only made one of his seven attempts, coming on a jumper with 50 seconds left.

“In the first half I let him go, I fell asleep on defense a couple times,” Hepburn said. “That got me motivated. I told my teammates at half that I’m going to stop him.”

Ellis and Peterson went from shooting 8-for-13 in the first half to 4-for-18 in the second half, debilitating considering how much the Trojans run their offense through those two players. USC went from averaging 1.06 ppp in the first half to .833 in the second.

Connor Essegian came to The Bahamas as a freshman role player. Safe to say his role has massively changed moving forward.

Essegian provided a lift with timely three-point shooting in all three tournament games. Against USC, Essegian his three three-pointers, including two on consecutive possessions that first ended a 6+ minute scoring drought and the second putting the Badgers ahead.

Essegian’s defense is improving, too, as he chased through screens, prevented cuts to the rim, and drew a foul that caused a turnover in the second half. There are times when he is overhelping, and that puts the other four players on the floor in a bind (his defensive rating was third lowest of the nine who played) but it’s significantly better than where he was a month ago.

Whether feeling the heat from Essegian or simply tired of setting makeable shots fall off the rim, Jordan Davis was aggressive in the first half, and it paid off with eight points on 3-for-5 shooting. He didn’t attempt a shot in the second half but was solid in his 12 minutes on the floor, as he finished the game as UW’s most efficient offensive player.

With Gard wanting to go with his experienced players down the stretch, being the third game in three days, Davis made that move pay off.

“He stayed true to who he needs to be,” Gard said of Davis, who had three rebounds, an assist, a steal, and no fouls or turnovers. “Shoot the open shots. The first two rimed out, finally got a third one to go in, but you can’t be tied to whether the ball go in. He defended, did some good things rebounding, he cuts well, just stay true to who you are and how you can best help this team. He did that.”

Wisconsin could play a schedule full of patsies to give the team some confidence and pad its win total, but Gard has always been a big believer that tough competition yields bigger growth. UW’s performance in The Bahamas emphasizes that with how Wisconsin went 2-1 against three teams that won a total of 84 games a year ago, fighting through adversity in all three games that were decided by a total of seven points.

"We got a close group of guys (and) no one wants to let each other down,” Wahl said. “We go out there, we give our whole heart every time we step out on the court for the 40 minutes. Even though it’s not as polished as we like it to be, it’s a good sign that we’re heading in the right direction for the season.”

While Wisconsin will bemoan the mistakes that cost them the chance to play No.22 Tennessee in the tournament championship, the Badgers can leave the island feeling good about where they are at in their development.

“We’ve learned a lot, grown a lot in this three-day span that’s going to help us as we move forward,” Gard said.

_________________________________________________

*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