Wisconsin has lost its late-game moxie

MADISON — When Greg Guard initially dubbed the 125th Wisconsin basketball squad “Team Drama,” it was born out of a tendency to play extremely close games that come down to the wire. Of course, when that declaration was made, the Badgers were also winning those close games.

During Wisconsin’s hot start to the season, which had them sitting at 11-2 and 3-0 in conference play, tight contests were not a cause for concern. Gard’s teams have historically been proficient in crunch time, and the results were speaking for themselves. The Badgers notched a one-point win over Dayton, a three-point overtime win over Marquette, a three-point overtime win over Iowa and a three-point win over Minnesota.

In their current collapse, in which they’ve lost seven of their past nine games, much of the “drama” has been missing. With two 10-point losses to Illinois, and shellackings at the hands of Indiana and Maryland, Wisconsin has been struggling to keep it close against teams higher up the Big Ten ladder. But when it has been close, the Badgers haven’t been able to pull it out.

On Jan. 10, Wisconsin lost by four at home to Michigan State. And most recently, the Badgers got swept by Northwestern, losing two games by a combined five points.

“We’ve now played two incredibly tough games with this team, and couldn’t have more respect for this program and Greg and what he does,” Northwestern head coach Chris Collins said after Sunday’s game. “They usually win close games; they’ve been a benchmark for that.”

Time and time again during the current nosedive, the Badgers have played neck-and-neck, only to crash and burn in the final minutes.

The Northwestern series this season serves as a perfect example. Both games were hard-fought, low-scoring and low-possession. They were physical contests, with both teams trying to impose their style of basketball on the other for 40 minutes. In the first meeting, Wisconsin found itself down two with two minutes remaining. They would then miss their next seven shots, including a Chucky Hepburn free throw. The late game dry spell was all she wrote for the Badgers in Evanston.

Three of those seven missed shots were courtesy of Hepburn, including an ill-advised step-back three pointer. The point guard also missed two-of-three free throws in the waning seconds.

The rematch two weeks later was eerily similar. Knotted in a one-possession game with about 90 seconds remaining, Hepburn took the last four shots for Wisconsin. He made one, a difficult step-back jumper. Then he was rejected at the rim, and finally missed another tough jumper to seal Wisconsin’s fate.

“First one I got blocked,” the point guard said. “Second one, I think it was a nice shot. I think I got fouled, but they didn’t call it so, play on.”

“I know my teammates believe in me to make the right decisions, so that’s what I’m gonna do,” he continued.

Hepburn has certainly earned that trust, and Gard is comfortable with the sophomore having the ball in his hands in clutch time, but “the shots need to be better. The one he got in (the post), got the shot blocked, had a chance to draw contact prior to the last one,” the coach said. “He’s made winning plays for us in a year and a half so far, so you trust his judgment to get the best shot he can get. But I thought at that point you go draw contact, make sure if not contact then you’re at the rim. But we’ll show those things tomorrow and help him get better at it.”

Collins spoke reverentially of Hepburn’s shot-making ability. “He’s almost like Damian Lillard. He’s gonna go left and shoot the step-back. And even though you know it’s coming, it’s (easier) said than done to stop it…I thought the next two possessions, we did a little better job kinda forcing a tougher shot.”

“And you get a little fortunate too, he’s gonna make those,” Collins added. “He’s gonna make more than he misses, I’ve seen that all too often in his career.”

We’ve seen Hepburn’s clutch gene, most famously to win the league a season ago against Purdue. However, it’s clear the young guard must learn to be more selective with his late-game shots. It’s also clear that missed shots late in close games won’t diminish his teammates’ trust in him.

“I mean I trust him with everything he does. He’s earned that right, he works hard, he does the right things,” Connor Essegian said. “I really trust him with every decision he makes.”

Of course, all of the onus doesn’t fall on Hepburn. Collectively, the Badgers didn’t give themselves the best chance to win.

“Free throws, it’s not a secret. You gotta convert,” Gard said. “When you’re in such a tight game, those things get magnified so much.”

“We gotta clean up some of the smaller stuff, whether that’s box out’s, I had a couple I could’ve got, or hitting free throws, I know personally I got there, 50 percent, I gotta be better than that,” Steven Crowl added.

When the final buzzer sounded Sunday night, Wisconsin was once again on the wrong end of an extremely tight game. Resolve at the end of close games, once their calling card, has escaped them as the season wears on. Every game in the Big Ten is a battle, so the Badgers will certainly have more chances to work on their late-game play. Whether they can turn it around in time to salvage their season remains to be seen.

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