The Wisconsin Badgers (14-10, 6-8 B1G) suffer their worst loss of the season in a 73-63 defeat to the Nebraska Cornhuskers (12-14, 5-10 B1G) in overtime from Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska.
After playing efficiently to surge into a 45-28 lead with 16:11 left in the game, the UW defense broke down, let the crowd get into the game and failed to counter offensively. UW still had a shot to win it at the end of regulation, but instead of getting some ball movement and/or dribble penetration, Chucky Hepburn settled for a very long 3-point attempt. The hole just got bigger.
Amazing how 30 foot 3’s at the end of regulation can backfire.
For some reason, Greg Gard hasn’t been able to get into Chucky Hepburn’s head with his late-game decisions.
He’s been pleading for Hepburn to drive at the end of game for three consecutive outings, and Hepburn hasn’t changed his ways.
I like Chucky’s game, but just once I would like to see him get dribble penetration and attack the rim instead of settling for a step back 3-point attempt in these end game scenarios.
There have been several more painful losses in the Gard era, but I can’t think of an objectively worse one off the top of my head.
It was bound to catch up to the Badgers eventually. This team has flirted with disaster after taking big leads all season.
I’m not saying that this is a “must win” when you still have Michigan (twice), Purdue, and Rutgers on top of the Big Ten Tournament still left on your schedule, but this loss definitely hurts.
In the end, the Badgers got what they deserved today.
Up Next:
The Badgers will host the Michigan Wolverines (14-10, 8-5 B1G) at the Kohl Center on Tuesday, February 14th. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. (Central Time) and will be nationally televised on ESPN2.
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