Badgers lose yet again in final regular season home battle
Close, but not close enough — a phrase that encapsulates the 2022-23 Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball season, including Thursday’s game against No. 5 Purdue, all too well.
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Close, but not close enough — a phrase that encapsulates the 2022-23 Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball season, including Thursday’s game against No. 5 Purdue, all too well.
As optimism for the Wisconsin men’s basketball season continues to steadily decline, things just took an even more drastic turn. Starting point guard Chucky Hepburn suffered an apparent right knee injury on Sunday against Michigan.
On a blizzardy evening in Madison, Wisconsin (16-11, 8-9 Big Ten) took down Iowa (17-11, 9-8) in a Big Ten showdown that proved crucial for the Badgers, who were in dire need of a win to attempt to secure a bid in the NCAA Tournament.
It is safe to say that this season’s Wisconsin Badgers basketball season has been a rollercoaster ride. Nothing has been comfortable. After being projected to finish in the bottom half of the Big Ten, Wisconsin started off the season 11-2. With impressive wins over USC, Marquette, Maryland and Iowa, Wisconsin looked on its way to the tournament by mid-January.
The Wisconsin Badgers (15-11, 7-9 Big Ten) played host to Rutgers (17-10, 9-7) in the only matchup between these two teams this season — and just the 12th meeting all-time. The Scarlet Knights, who have been on the wrong end of a three game skid, ended the Badgers’ regained momentum from the big win over Michigan on Valentine’s Day, as Rutgers won 58-57.
Last year, Wisconsin men’s basketball had a phenomenal season — going 25-8, clinching a share of the regular season Big Ten title and finishing as No. 14 in the final AP Poll. Even though the Badgers bowed out in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Iowa State, it did not take away from their rich accomplishments.
The Michigan Wolverines (14-12, 8-7 Big Ten) paid a visit to the Wisconsin Badgers (15-10, 7-8) at the Kohl Center on Tuesday night in a rematch of last season’s game that ended with a fiery encounter between Michigan’s head coach, Juwan Howard, and the Badgers’ coaching staff.
The whole season, coach Greg Gard and the Wisconsin men’s basketball team have been playing with fate. Out of the 23 games played prior to Feb. 11, 14 of those games have been decided by five or less points — the most in the country.
As temperatures in Madison began to thaw out the snow, the Badgers’ basketball team seemed to thaw out their offense on Wednesday night. Wisconsin (14-9, 6-7 Big Ten) traveled to Penn State (14-10, 5-8) for a crucial Big Ten matchup between two March Madness bubble teams.
In a rematch of the rescheduled loss at the end of January, Wisconsin (13-10, 5-7 Big Ten) welcomed the Northwestern Wildcats (17-7, 7-5) to the Kohl Center for a Sunday evening duel. The possibility of missing March Madness tournament bids loomed large for both teams.
A rollercoaster of emotion would be an understatement in describing Thursday night as the Wisconsin Badgers (13-8, 5-6 Big Ten) managed to hold onto their lead late and defeat Ohio State (11-11, 3-8 Big Ten) on the road.
It’s been seven games since Greg Gard coached a fully healthy Badger basketball team. In that span, Wisconsin won just twice, both three point wins over Minnesota and Penn State.
Devastating mid-season funks strike countless teams throughout the college basketball world every year. Each fanbase hopes their team can avoid dangerous skids in the thick of the season. Unfortunately for Wisconsin, the funk has hit hard in the form of injuries, inconsistencies, and most importantly, losing.
A pattern seems to be emerging for the Badgers this season. In every game that a typical starter is injured, Wisconsin (12-6, 4-4 Big Ten) loses. Unfortunately, the pattern was further reinforced on Monday night in Evanston, as Coach Greg Gard’s team dropped another tight game, this time to Northwestern (13-5, 4-3) by a score of 66-63.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But if it is broken, then something has to change.
While there are no excuses to explain three straight losses, the gap that Tyler Wahl’s absence has left is undoubtedly growing by the game. On Saturday, Wisconsin’s leading scorer sat for the third straight game, and Wisconsin failed to produce a solid performance without him yet again, losing in Indiana 63-45.
In a return to the Kohl Center for the just the second time in 2023, the 18th ranked Wisconsin Badgers (11-4, 3-2 Big Ten) once again struggled to produce a quality performance, as they could not contain the unranked Michigan State Spartans (12-4, 4-1) at home, 69-65.
The Wisconsin Badgers (11-2, 3-0 Big Ten) kicked off the Big Ten portion of their schedule in true Big Ten fashion — with a frustratingly inconsistent offensive yet strong defensive performance. The Badgers ultimately pulled out a victory over the Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-7, 0-3) at home, 63-60.
Contrary to what was thought to ever be possible, the Wisconsin Badgers were able to deliver a convincing win, as they took down Lehigh by 22 points on Thursday night, 78-56. This was the biggest margin of victory the Badgers have recorded since Nov. 7 against South Dakota in the season opener.
If playing in close games was in style, Wisconsin would be leaders of the trend. In yet another overtime game, the Badgers pulled out a gritty win, as they took down the high-powered Iowa Hawkeyes on the road, 78-75. Now boasting a 2-0 Big Ten record, the Badgers are finally cracking the AP Top 25, picking up the No. 22 rank after Sunday’s win.