MINNEAPOLIS -- It hasn't been easy all season long for Wisconsin, and that wasn't going to change in the regular season finale against the last-place Gophers. The Badgers can thank some timely missed free throws from Minnesota during a final minute that included UW uncharacteristically fouling while up three, turning it over on its end and hitting timely free throws.

After allowing Minnesota to shoot over 60 percent for much of the game, Greg Gard's crew tightened up on the defensive end in the final 10 minutes of play. After surrendering 53 points with over 10 minutes to go, Minnesota scored just nine points the rest of the game before Wisconsin started fouling intentionally. On the other end, Tyler Wahl and Steven Crowl had their way in the paint.

Here are my takeaways from Williams Arena in Minneapolis.

Wahl and Chucky Hepburn were two of the three players who met with the media after the contests against Purdue and Minnesota. The mood from the two in each appearance could not have been more different.

The duo had to answer for yet another close loss, yet another game they couldn't make winning plays and why shots didn't fall. When asked about a 2-for-11 night after the loss to Purdue, Wahl had a short response.

"Just didn't make my shots," he said.

Wincing while facing some tough lighting in the Minnesota media room, Wahl kept smiling over at Crowl, while Hepburn answered questions about what the win meant, how good his big three felt and more.

"You can definitely tell that it kind of led into this game, but at the half we talked about it and we were all locked in," Hepburn said after the win of the team's energy. "We still have a shot of going to March Madness, so definitely have to leave everything on the line like the next game is our last game."

It's that time of the year. Gard elected to go nine-deep in the win, but when his team came back out for the second half against Minnesota, he turned to his starters to get the job done.

In the second half, Wahl, Crowl and Hepburn played all 20 minutes. Connor Essegian was subbed out for Isaac Lindsey for four minutes to shore up some things on the defensive end. Carter Gilmore came in for Crowl for two minutes and closed it out to get some more quickness out there in a situation where the Badgers were trying to foul. That's the extent of the playing time the bench saw in the second half.

The core showed Gard the trust was well earned after they started the second half on a 7-1 run in the first 2:17 to pull within one. That run included a drive to the basket from Hepburn, a push up the court from Wahl, which ended in an and-one, and then a steal and dunk from the team's starting point guard. In a game Wisconsin desperately could not lose, the team's leaders responded.

In all, the five players accounted for all 71 points, with Wahl and Crowl leading the way with 21 apiece. Outside of Klesmit, who struggled shooting (1-for-6 from the field), they went 26-for-49 (53 percent).

"I wasn't going to take Chucky out because he was rested, and Tyler when I was going to take him out, he would make a couple really good plays," Gard said.

"If they're playing well and they don't ask to come out - this time of the year everyone is tired. Everyone has something bothering them. No is going to feel real healthy right now or fresh. So it's a battle of wills really when you get to this time of the year."

Crowl didn't waste any time letting the opposing big men know it would be a long night defending the paint. In the first three minutes, the Minnesota native tallied a block, two offensive rebounds and six points on six shots. For reference, he had taken just five shots against Purdue.

Wahl, his veteran teammate in the front court, welcomed the matchup against the 6-foot-7 freshman Joseph Ola-Joseph. The senior tallied eight points on 3-of-4 shooting in the first half before he finished with 21 points, which included going 5-for-5 from the free throw line.

"Me and T (Wahl) and even Gil (Carter Gilmore), we knew we had to be aggressive and it was working. So that's just kind of how the game flowed and I think all of us, not just me and Tyler, the guards, too, did a good job of getting in the paint, getting downhill and finishing in the paint," Crowl said.

Naturally, the starting front court of Wahl and Crowl led the scoring effort in the paint. But as Crowl alluded to, Hepburn was able to get in the basket a couple times, and timely cutting from Essegian and Klesmit led to baskets as well. Wisconsin finished with 48 points in the lane, were 16-for-26 on layups and took just two threes the entire second half.

The first half looked like Wisconsin might have hit a new low in a season that's been filled with improbable endings. At the end of the first half, miscues allowed Minnesota to hit its final four shots to open up a seven-point lead and close out a half that saw them shoot 60.0 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from the three.

None of the looks the Gophers cashed in on were part of a schematic advantage. The Badgers were simply getting beat off the dribble and had a couple broken defensive principles that led to open jump shots.

The answer? Simply be more aggressive.

"Just some defensive miscues of allowing a lefty to get to his left hand or missing a block out that led to an and-one," Gard said. "I thought we were much more physical in the second half and I think that helped us get an edge defensively."

After hitting a three-pointer to go up 53-46 with 10:47 left to play, Minnesota was limited to nine points until UW began to intentionally foul with 26 seconds to go. After that triple, the Gophers would shoot 3-for-11 the rest of the game.

It's been a while since Hepburn successfully helped put teams away in late game situations. Sunday night was a sign of vintage Hepburn, though, with the sophomore point guard hitting a step-back three going to his left for what became the dagger.

"He's a really good player who's maybe unfairly been pointed out as missing a game winning shot or what would have been a game winning shot. As a player, you can't be afraid of that moment because you're probably going to miss more than you're going to make over the course of your career," Gard said.

Wisconsin, as it often does, didn't make the final 46 seconds easy on itself. With Gard uncharacteristically electing to foul while up three, a miscommunication on an inbounds turned into a quick turnover before Klesmit inexplicably fouled Jamison Battle with UW only up two.

"Max thought we were up three, so that's why he fouled or at least that's why he told me he fouled. We'll work on the math skills but I think for us to knock down free throws - Tyler Wahl going five for five -- was big," Gard said.

Klesmit joked after the game that luckily it all worked out, which allows the mistake to simply become a footnote in the win. After failing to come through in games against Northwestern, Rutgers, Michigan and Purdue, a win in a close game, albeit while committing self-inflicted errors, is a welcome sight after falling just short so often.

"I wouldn't want it any other way," Wahl said when a reporter let him that was the 20th game this season decided by five or fewer points.

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