IOWA CITY, IOWA -- Head coach Greg Gard offered a fitting nickname for this year's team after Wisconsin's 78-75 win over Iowa.

In the post-game locker room, he told the group they were "team drama." The label comes minutes after UW gave away an eight-point lead in the final two minutes of regulation before rallying back in overtime to improve to 2-0 in conference play.

The Badgers came away with their third win in eight days. Two of the contests have come on the road, and the other a win at home over previously undefeated and No. 13 Maryland.

"A lot of things to learn from this," Gard said after the win. "A lot of things we did not do well - not do properly or correct - but again, a team that continues to battle and fight and tries to find a way."

Here are the takeaways from Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

In a game in which Wisconsin held an eight-point lead with 2:13 remaining in regulation, it somehow feels like the Badgers stole a victory on the road.

With a five-point edge with 22 seconds to go, the Badgers surrendered an offensive rebound and a subsequent layup from Iowa guard Tony Perkins. Freshman Connor Essegian turned it over on the next possession and the scramble allowed Patrick McCaffery to hit a three to tie things up with 15 seconds to go and ultimately force overtime.

"I remember telling him the funny thing about basketball is we get a chance to make a play right here," senior forward Tyler Wahl said, recalling his conversation with Essegian. "I was telling him if he gets the ball, don’t be afraid to shoot it, we’re on to the next thing. I think that’s really big for him. He was a little down but he flipped a switch and he was ready to go."

It didn't take long for the freshman to pick himself back up. Essegian cut to the basket in overtime and finished a tough layup over two defenders to put UW up nine with 3:42 to go and ice the game. A dunk with three seconds remaining served as an exclamation point on another hard-fought win for Wisconsin.

"They had a good attitude in the huddle and when we started overtime, they were positive," Gard said. "'Hey, we’ve been here before,' which we have been there more than we needed to be - in overtime. I just go back to the fortitude and the grit. This group - they don’t flinch. They keep battling and they don’t do everything right and we all know that, but I can never question their effort or their intent."

The two baskets from Essegian came after some brilliant shot making from the Badgers. Wahl hit an unusual pull-up three off a ball screen, which left him open to tie things up at 69. On the next possession, Jordan Davis hit a three after sitting for a few minutes on the bench to knot things up at 72.

The final 1:43 of overtime included some grit on the defensive end. Iowa finished 1-of-4 over that stretch to go with a pair of turnovers, each of which were forced by Wahl and Chucky Hepburn.

Iowa needed a miracle to force overtime due in large part to the defensive effort from Wisconsin in the final stretch of regulation. After finishing a layup with 6:16 left, the Hawkeyes went 1-for-10 over the next five and a half minutes of action.

"They have a tendency to not make it as easy as it should be, but credit to Iowa to make some plays there at the end to catch us at the end of regulation," Gard said. "But the grit and the effort and the fortitude of our group that they continue to show night in and night out can’t be questioned, so that’s what it took to be able to come from behind in the overtime and seal things out."

It's a different look this season for Wisconsin. Of the players in the rotation, Steven Crowl, Wahl and Hepburn are the only returnees who logged at least 200 minutes of action a season ago. In fact, each averaged at least 25.0 minutes a game last season, so it's fitting that the trio, along with Davis, helped create the necessary separation against the Hawkeyes.

Of the 18 points in overtime, 11 came from the trio of Wahl, Crowl and Hepburn. The three-pointer from Davis to tie things up at 72 can't be overlooked, either.

"They're the guys that have the most experience coming back," Gard said of the group. "Chucky, even though he’s a sophomore, and Steve - it’s really only his second year playing, they’ve been in a lot of games. They’ve got a lot of experience. Tyler obviously has got double what they have but you want those guys on the floor because they’ve been there. They’ve made things happen in the past."

Essegian, who finished with 14 points, continued to add a boost off the bench, and Carter Gilmore etched a new career-high eight points. Yet it all came back to the leaders of the group on key possessions.

Hepburn went 4-for-12 from the field but added four steals and six rebounds in the effort. Crowl tallied seven assists to go with 12 points, including a hook shot right as the shot clock expired to put UW up one with 46 seconds to go. Wahl added four steals of his own, seven rebounds and led Wisconsin with 21 points.

Hepburn offered praise for the trio for battling through in a tough environment.

"Myself, I knew I wasn’t scoring as much, so I just had to make plays on the defensive end, which is what I did and Tyler he was feeling himself, so I just gave him the ball and let him work," he said.

"Steve, he battled tonight. Had a bloody nose. Was getting fouled a lot and they weren’t calling it. He battled through it, persevered and he had the nice little hook."

When Wahl looked back on the game, the shot that stuck with him as emblematic of the team's resilience wasn't his three on the left wing to tie things up at 69. Instead, he pointed to the triple Davis hit on the next possession.

"Jordan comes in off the bench, he hasn’t played in a little bit, and he just has the confidence to come in and shoot it," Wahl said. "I think that’s the play that really sticks out to me. That’s kind of what I think about this team. A guy is going to come in, everyone wants to see you succeed and so go ahead and let that thing fly."

The basket added another moment to what had been a stretch of clutch shot making from both teams. Just 16 seconds earlier, Wahl hit just as big of a jumper to even things up again. The shot was one he wouldn't have taken and likely wouldn't have made in the past.

"I’ve been putting in a lot of work in the offseason and I just got to keep shooting it," Wahl said. "Confidence wavering a little bit the last couple days, but my coaches and teammates believe in me. They have confidence in me, so I just got to believe in it and keep shooting it."

The shot making from the Badgers wouldn't end after the jumper from Davis. With Iowa taking a one-point edge, Crowl had on the ball on the left block and with some help from Davis, he lofted up a hook shot with the shot clock running down to put UW up one. Much like Wahl, the shot likely isn't one he would have hit a year ago.

"I wasn't (aware of the shot clock running down) until Jordan started yelling at me, so I knew I had to get a shot up," Crowl said.

When asked if he could have hit that shot a year ago, he wasn't so sure he could have.

"I'm going to say probably not," he said. "Just the experience of going through all these Big Ten games, especially on the road. I think last year it probably it wouldn't have gone in, but tonight it went in and I'm grateful for it."

The junior big man out of Minnesota has yet to really take over a game this season. That may have changed Sunday afternoon in Iowa City.

The hook shot in the final minute of overtime provided a signature moment in what was another steady performance as the primary big. In all, Crowl finished with 12 points, seven assists, six rebounds and a block.

"I think he has so much more. I see the potential in him," Gard said. "I don’t know if he sees it in himself. I think he can be a terrific player in this league. We’ve had a lot of really good ones that have played that position over the years and I think it’s just for him believing. I don’t think he believes that he’s that good and that’s the biggest thing with Steve is just trying to continue to fan the flame of confidence with him."

For a team that lives through the post on the offensive end, Crowl has fit in nicely as a play-making forward in the post. With the seven assists, he's now notched at least three in the last seven games.

"I don’t think I’ve ever played with a center like that who is able to find us like that," Hepburn said of his teammate. "He’s fun. He’s very vocal on the offensive side and the defensive side. So to be able to play with a big like that, so fortunate."

Among big men in the conference, Crowl flies under the radar with the likes of Trayce Jackson-Davis, Hunter Dickinson and Zach Edey dominating the ticker board at the bottom of a telecast. Crowl's play, though, hasn't gone unnoticed in Madison.

"He’s got to fight through some adversity and fatigue at times to take another step, but he made some big plays for us," Gard said.

Gard appears to have settled into a primary seven-man rotation with Gilmore and Essegian the two subs off the bench to go with the starting group. That held true against the Hawkeyes, too, but some foul trouble in the first period forced Gard to play 10 guys.

Max Klesmit, Davis, Crowl and Gilmore each logged two fouls in the first half, which paved the way for Isaac Lindsey, Kamari McGee and Markus Ilver to see the floor. Neither saw more than four minutes of action but held their own when thrust onto the court.

"It’s just a switch of pace. We got guys like Isaac coming in, Kamari coming in, they just bring a different look," Wahl said of the reserves. "They bring some good energy, they make some good plays and that just gets everyone else going so that’s huge for us."

Five days after posting a career-high seven points against Maryland, Gilmore put together another solid day with a new career-high eight points to go with four rebounds and a steal in just over 21 minutes off the bench.

Three of Gilmore's four rebounds came on the offensive end and directly led to points. On the defensive end, he held his own and was constantly in good position to force a tough shot or miss.

"Carter off the bench, he did a great job coming in," Crowl said of his teammate in the front court. "Got some offensive boards, made some good moves and played some good D. There was no drop off when he comes in, so it's really nice to have a guy like that off the bench."

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