The Wisconsin Badgers (18-14) played arguably their most complete game since early January in a 81-62 win over the Bradley Braves (25-10) at the Kohl Center in the First Round of the National Invitational Tournament (NIT).
Steven Crowl led the way for UW with a career-high 36 points and nine rebounds.
Bradley assistant coach Brian Jones had to be re-living a nightmare with Crowl scoring 36. Jones was the North Dakota head coach when Frank Kaminsky set a school record 43 points against North Dakota at the Kohl Center in 2013.
Crowl played like Kaminsky tonight by attacking inside and outside, all levels.
Crowl’s 36 points tied the most ever by a Badgers player in a postseason game. Michael Finley also had 36 in the 1994 NCAA Tournament against Missouri.
Max Klesmit finished with 16 points and Connor Essegian finished with 14 points.
Chucky Hepburn struggled shooting tonight, finishing with just three points on 1-for-7 from the field. UW needs more from their point guard. Hepburn did finish with five assists, which is good.
It’s the first time that UW scored 80+ points in regulation since the season opener (85 against South Dakota).
Collectively, the Badgers did a great job of taking care of the ball, finished with just three turnovers.
Obviously, fans, players, coaches, etc. would rather be in the NCAA Tournament, but it was still good & fun to see the team play well in a meaningful game and come away with the win to keep the season alive.
Up Next:
The Badgers will host the Liberty Flames (27-8) at the Kohl Center in the NIT Sweet 16. This will be a challenging matchup for UW.
I’m seeing reports that the game will be on Sunday, March 19th. Tipoff time & television network hasn’t been announced yet.
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