Takeaways from Wisconsin's 80-77 Overtime Victory over Marquette

MILWAUKEE – With all the parity in college basketball, Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard might rarely get a game in which the Badgers blow out an opponent. Even though he joked it will age him drastically, Gard saw his group give him a nice 52nd birthday present.

Balanced scoring, toughness buckets, and gritty plays with and without starting point guard Chucky Hepburn were the difference for Wisconsin in a feel-good 80-77 overtime victory over Marquette at Fiserv Forum Saturday.

“If you only tune in to college basketball in March, you’re missing three (or) four really good months,” Gard said. “There’s a lot of really good basketball played in November and December.

There’s still a lot of basketball left, including the Big Ten opener Tuesday against unbeaten Maryland, but the Badgers (6-2) are adding to their toughness resume, rebounding from the frustrating loss to Wake Forest in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge with winning the annual I-94 rivalry with the bragging rights to go with it.

Here are my takeaways from Fiserv Forum.

When Chucky Hepburn was forced from the floor early in the second half, evidently hurt from his three-pointer that beat the halftime buzzer, flashbacks filled my head of last March. With his ankle wrapped in the locker room, Hepburn watched the Badgers go 6-for-30 without his presence on the floor in an ugly performance that eliminated them from the NCAA Tournament in the second round.

Gard said his mind didn’t go there, but mine did.

This certainly wasn’t nearly as bad as that incident, partly because Hepburn came back with just under seven minutes left to help steady the offense, but the fact that the Badgers were able to keep their head above water – albeit barely – is a sign of growth for this young team.

Max Klesmit logged over 29 minutes in regulation alone and didn’t leave the court in overtime. He delivered with the game-winning bucket on a feed from Hepburn to finish with 15 points, but he did multiple other key things: four assists, two steals, and drawing six fouls, allowing him to go 4-for-5 from the line.

UW got 12 points from Connor Essegian in the second half, while a combination of Kamari McGee, Isaac Lindsey, and others tried to handle the point position. It was sloppy and choppy, as Marquette was able to spread out Wisconsin and attack gaps in the Badgers’ defense, but the visitors still lead for 18 minutes, 20 seconds in the second half.

A year ago after crumbling without a true backup point guard, Wisconsin – who is still missing backup point guard Jahcobi Neath – found ways to win in a much more hostile environment than the one it was in nine months ago.

“We put a lot of pressure on Chucky to run the offense and keep everyone under control,” senior Tyler Wahl said. “It wasn’t just Max that came in and got the job done. It was the guys off the bench, like Kamari McGee (and) Isaac Lindsey, those guys really kept us together, bringing some energy, bring some minutes we were missing.”

Hepburn was fantastic with 16 of his 19 points in the first half (and his only second-half points being a three-pointer with 51.2 seconds left to give UW the lead), Klesmit hit the big shot (“a toughness basket,” Gard called it) and Wahl scoring five of his 15 in overtime, but two big contributors are further down the stat sheet in Steven Crowl and McGee.

Crowl was efficient by going 3-for-4 from the field with eight points, including a nasty two-hand slam in the face of forward Oso Ighodaro that yielded a three-point play, but the junior had a career-high seven assists led to 17 points for his teammates. He was credited with only four rebounds but there were multiple deflections with his 7-foot frame that went to his teammates that ended or extended possessions.

“His skill level is really high,” Gard said of Crowl. “He’s really comfortable, even when he gets trapped. We always want to play through the post and when you have post players who are good passers and make good decisions and are unselfish, that helps because that’s a good playmaking position. Everybody thinks you throw the ball inside to score, but it’s also a position of which to play out of in terms of some cutting … That’s a good offensive weapon.”

Gard also relied on McGee for close to 10 minutes and the sophomore responded with five points, two rebounds, and one turnover. He cleaned up his only miss to hit a jumper on the baseline. McGee hadn’t played in the previous two games for UW, but Gard said the point guard had practiced better in the days leading up to the game as he continues to get comfortable within the offense.

“With what we were going to have to face defensively, his ability to attack, and the floor was probably going to be open a little bit more because of the pressure, I wanted some of his athleticism and ability to get downhill and make plays,” Gard said. “He’s stayed very positive. He transferred to play but jumping up to this level and being a part of a winning culture, there’s an adjustment period. He’s still learning in terms of what we do and what our procedures are offensively and defensively. He’s gotten better at it, but he’s kept a really positive attitude and waiting for his chance … He’s stayed ready while trying to improve. He definitely answered the call today.”

Wisconsin’s major problem in Tuesday’s loss to Wake Forest was its inability to slow guard Tyree Appleby. Of the 78 points the Demon Deacons laid on the Badgers, Appleby was responsible for 32 from his scoring and another 11 from his passing, doing a lot of damage from penetrating into the lane and finishing around the rim or delivering a kick-out.

On paper, Marquette was more dangerous because the Golden Eagles had been led in scoring by five different players in their eight games. Marquette lived up to that billing by shooting over 50 percent from the floor in each half, outscoring UW, 34-28, in the paint, and turning a season-high 15 UW turnovers into 18 points, but the Badgers held them to only 1-for-5 in the extra session.

Part of the issues came without Hepburn on the floor, which led to 15 turnovers, but the Badgers got back to containing the floor better toward the end of regulation and then in overtime when the point guard returned.

“It’s a lot different than when Chucky goes down for us,” Klesmit said. “We have to make a lot of adjustments and a couple different things. It hurt when he went down, but when I heard the crowd roar and I saw “2-3” jogging back in, I knew we were going to be all right.”

69.6 – Wisconsin’s shooting percentage in the first half, a season-high for the Badgers in a half.

5 – Consecutive games for the Badgers decided by five points or less, including four by one possession.

4-2 – The victory improves Wisconsin to 4-2 against KenPom Top-100 teams

1-10 – Over the final six minutes, Wisconsin made only one shot – a Hepburn three-pointer with 51.2 seconds left.

12-27 – Wisconsin finished shooting 44.4 percent from three-point range, the third straight game the Badgers have hit double digits from the perimeter.

3 - The Badgers had four players in double figures for the third time this season, improving to 2-1 when they reach that mark.

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