MADISON, Wis. -- Accepting an invitation to the NIT wasn't met with rousing approval by the Wisconsin fanbase. The same folks who were too prideful to root for a team in the NIT probably aren't responding to the pair of wins with an outstanding response either. A look around the college basketball landscape - both in the NIT and the NCAA Tournament - should suggest that a trip to the quarterfinals shouldn't be an afterthought.

Had Wisconsin's two opponents - Bradley and Liberty - been able to win their conference tournament title games, a 12- and 13-seed likely seed awaited them. Riding the wave of another career-performance from one of the team's top players on Sunday at the Kohl Center, Wisconsin's season rolls on.

Here are my takeaways from Wisconsin’s win over Liberty to move on in the NIT Tournament.

It was a strange regular season - and (short) Big Ten Tournament - for Wisconsin. Whether you point to injuries, inexperience or shooting woes, it's been an inconsistent 2023 for Greg Gard's crew. Squarely in the middle of it all were what was supposed to be a big three of sorts with Tyler Wahl, Chucky Hepburn and Steven Crowl.

Through two games of a second life given to the Badgers, the extra opportunity has produced breakout performances from Crowl and now Hepburn. Scoring 10 of the team's first 14 points, it looked like the seven-footer was set to follow up a 36-point night with another 20-plus point game. Instead, his output was cut short at 14, but Hepburn took the reins against Liberty.

Taking advantage of a matchup with a pair of 5-foot-9 guards, Hepburn was off to the races with 19 points in the first half - 12 of which came in the paint. Even in his lone basket of the first period that was of the jump shot variety, Hepburn still bullied his defender with a back down in the post before fading away for an easy jumper.

The hot start has been a rare sight for the sophomore point guard. In the previous three games, Hepburn scored a combined four points in the three first halves. Against the Flames, he opened up the game 7-for-11 from the field.

Sitting for just two minutes in the second half, Hepburn continued to provide steady play. He added eight points on a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.

In the midst of a 6-11 end to the regular season after starting the year 11-2, Gard never needed to ask for a better effort from his players. That level of buy-in was always there despite some shooting woes and close losses.

Minutes after yet another close loss, this time at the hands of a top five Purdue team with chances to boost its resume slipping away, Gard said that he wanted to see his guys get "rewarded" for the level of effort they were shooting on a nightly basis. Now in the NIT, the results are starting to show up.

"I've had buy in all year," Gard quickly responded when asked if he liked the buy in from the team. "These guys have busted their butts for us. I know we haven't gotten the results always like we wanted, but I've never had to coach effort and that's a big thing for a coach to be able to do that and just work on basketball and some of the technical things.

"If this group didn't have buy in, we wouldn't be here nor have a chance. We've competed with about every one we've played. We've had some ups and downs, we've been a little inconsistent."

The final sequence included a stop with Carter Gilmore isolated against Darius McGhee, a three from Kyle Rode that just rimmed out and doing just enough to bother a tap back in.

"We're just grateful to still be playing basketball in March and we're taking this opportunity to grow and get better," Crowl said. "It does feel good to get back-to-back wins. It's been a little bit."

Crowl showed just how tough of a proposition Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay had when it came to coming up with a game plan to stop the Minnesota native.

In the first half, he bullied his way down low for 14 points against Blake Preston, who stands at 6-foot-9 and plays the '5' for Liberty. After halftime, McKay elected to send a second defender at Crowl, who then promptly found Wahl twice for an easy layup.

"If I had to do it again, I'm not sure I wouldn't live with the same game plan," McKay said after the game.

The 14-point outing followed up Crowl's career day of 36 points against Bradley, which lifted him up to 12.3 points per game on the season. A flagrant foul after shoving a Liberty defender before the end of the first half highlight a new, rugged Crowl that's shown up in the NIT.

"I like that he's aggressive," Gard said. "I'd rather have him that way and we can work to fine tune some of the things that if I had to really encourage him to play physical. Because when he came here two years ago, he wanted not a whole lot to do with that and he's added that part and he likes it.

"I get asked who is the biggest trash talker on the team and it's Steve Crowl. He's the one who tells everyone how good he is. I like that mentality even though he looks meek and mild."

Looking at the box score after the game, one would be led to assume the effort was fueled by a top three that combined to score 57 points. It was a combined effort, though, with a spark or defensive action from up and down the lineup.

On the second to last defensive play of the game, Gilmore stepped up and did enough to bother McGhee on a switch that Liberty worked to create with the big on their best guard.

Max Klesmit totaled just seven points but each was much needed in the final 2:09 of play. Two of his baskets put UW ahead and a pair of free throws iced the game.

Jordan Davis and Kamari McGee combined to score two points but were a +4 and +6, respectively, when on the floor. Wahl's 14 points with Crowl on the bench were key when Hepburn and Crowl slowed down in the second half as well.

"We'll worry about next year when next year comes, but to be able to get this experience and continue to grow and put guys in different situations and more days to practice and get better," Gard said. "Any time you have more opportunities, it's a chance to get better."

27 – Hepburn led the Badgers with a career-high 27 points. His previous best was a 23-point night against Wake Forest earlier in the year and it is just the third time in his career, he's had a 20-point game.

1-15 – Wisconsin finishes the day 1-for-15 from beyond the arc. Its lone make was a big one from Klesmit to put UW up, 68-67.

7 – Points scored by Klesmit, all of which came in the final 2:09. The aforementioned three put UW ahead and then a tough left handed layup gave the Badgers the lead once again before he put the game away with a pair of free throws.

2-17 – Three-point shooting for Essegian over the last three games.

21-35 (60.0%) - Combined shooting from Hepburn, Wahl and Crowl. Wisconsin's big three combined to score 57 points at an efficient clip.

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