The Wisconsin Badgers beat the Purdue Boilermakers 76-75 in overtime in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Saturday, thanks to a game-winner from Max Klesmit in a classic thriller.
With the win, the Badgers will advance to the finals of the tournament, where they will face off against the winner of the Illinois Fighting Illini versus Nebraska Cornhuskers game, with tip-off set for 2:30 P.M. on Sunday.
Offensively, Wisconsin shot 43.2 percent from the field and 21.9 percent from three, making enough plays to win, with Chucky Hepburn leading the charge with 22 points.
Defensively, the Badgers held on despite allowing 32 free throws, holding Purdue to 45.1 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from deep.
Here are three quick takeaways from the Badgers’ 76-75 win over the Purdue Boilermakers.
Defense
With Wisconsin struggling at times, both from the field and on three-pointers, the Badgers had to rely on its defense to stay the course throughout the game.
Wisconsin had a slow start offensively, missing each of their first five three-pointers, which prompted Purdue to jump out to an early lead.
But, similarly to the Northwestern game on Friday, the Badgers were able to go on an 11-2 run to take their first lead of the game, as Purdue couldn’t connect on a number of threes in that stretch.
Wisconsin thrives off momentum swings and this game was no different, with the Badgers turning defense into offense to go on a big run.
The Badgers ultimately held Purdue to just 1/8 from three in the first half, which was integral to keeping the Boilermakers at 36 points, as the latter had 18 free throw attempts in the first half.
However, the second half was really where the defensive efforts showed out, especially at the beginning of the period.
While Purdue shot the ball well, Wisconsin was able to force 11 turnovers, while holding the Boilermakers scoreless over a 5:20 stretch where they forced six turnovers, keeping them in the game, despite some struggles offensively.
More importantly, Wisconsin found a way to not foul nearly as much until the end of regulation when they were forced to, keeping Purdue off the free throw line.
The Badgers had some shortcomings, as Purdue found their three-point shot, hitting 4/6 from deep, while shooting 12/23 from the field.
But, that five-minute stretch saved Wisconsin at a time when their offense was struggling, keeping the Badgers within it to preserve the chance at victory.
In overtime, it was all free throws for Purdue, who got 10 attempts at the line, making nine of them, while the Boilermakers missed all three of their field goal attempts.
Adversity
The free throw disparity was a big part of Sunday’s game, keeping the Boilermakers within distance, as they ended the game with 32 attempts from the line, compared to the Badgers’ nine.
Zach Edey was the biggest beneficiary, shooting 19 times and hitting 14 of his free throws.
But, the Badgers were working against a quick whistle, which prompted Nolan Winter, Tyler Wahl, and Steven Crowl to all foul out, leaving Wisconsin to play Carter Gilmore as their center for a majority of the overtime period.
However, throughout all the free throw attempts, the Badgers remained firmly in the mix, matching Purdue’s scoring at the line with clutch shots down the line, all the way to the final whistle.
Fouls have always been a controversy when the Badgers faced off against the Boilermakers, with Sunday being no different, but the most important part was that Wisconsin found a way to weather the storm with all of their different lineup combinations.
Facing injuries, with Tyler Wahl and John Blackwell clearly laboring, and Chucky Hepburn still dealing with knee soreness, the Badgers still found a way to pull off the victory in an unlikely setting, beating the foe that bested them twice in the regular season.
Wisconsin didn’t shoot the ball well, which was a key of mine entering the game, as they connected on just 7/32 (21.9 percent) of their threes.
A.J. Storr even struggled with his efficiency, specifically in the second half, where he shot 3/12, but the Badgers got their biggest victory of the year, nonetheless, leading them to the Big Ten Tournament finals.
Chucky Hepburn
Enough can’t be said about Chucky Hepburn’s performance, as the Badgers guard was the team’s best player on Saturday.
Dealing with a knee issue that was serious enough for him to sit out Friday’s game against the Northwestern Wildcats, Hepburn mustered through 38 hard-fought minutes, scoring a team-high 22 points on 9/12 from the field.
Down the stretch, with Storr struggling to connect on shots, the Badgers turned to Hepburn, who showcased he can still be a clutch scorer when his team needs him to be.
A majority of his production offensively came in the second half, as Hepburn scored 14 points on 6/8 shooting in the period, while collecting three key steals.
With the game on the line in regulation, head coach Greg Gard called a beautiful play, resulting in Hepburn earning a 1-on-1 opportunity where he drove past Braden Smith to score the game-tying layup as the buzzer sounded.
Then, in overtime, Hepburn forced a key turnover on Braden Smith with 21 seconds left, hounding him for 94 feet before drawing an offensive foul as the Purdue guard crossed midcourt, giving Wisconsin the ball down one point to end the game.
With that, Max Klesmit ultimately delivered the kill shot, driving in and hitting a floater over Zach Edey with just under five seconds remaining to deliver the Badgers the win and send them to the Big Ten Tournament finals.
Hepburn confidently said following the Northwestern game that nothing was stopping him from playing against Purdue.
Not only did he play, but the Badgers guard fought his heart out for 38 minutes, and Wisconsin needed every minute of that effort to win this game.
