The Wisconsin Badgers pulled out a narrow 80-77 overtime victory over in-state rival Marquette on Saturday afternoon. The story of the game was Chucky Hepburn.
Hepburn had an incredible 16 point first half where he shot 6-6 from the field and 4-4 from beyond the arc. Wisconsin went on a late run and took a 41-30 lead into halftime. But as soon as the second half began, Hepburn had to leave the game with a non-contact injury.
With their floor general out, the Badgers looked a little lost on the court and their double digit lead began to slip away. It was a 64-61 Badgers lead with 6:56 to go when Hepburn re-emerged from the locker room and entered the game. Still, he was trying to get warmed back up offensively.
Marquette took a 68-67 lead and then Hepburn stepped up to hit another clutch 3 to give Wisconsin a 70-68 lead. Marquette answered with a dunk to tie it at 70 and the game went into overtime.
Tyler Wahl scored 5 of his 15 points in overtime, including a eurostep layup to extend the lead to 5. Marquette tied it again and then a layup by Max Klesmit with 3.5 seconds to go put Wisconsin on top for good.
Two home run inbound plays by Marquette were intercepted by Wisconsin, the last one caught by Tyler Wahl and he then waved goodbye to the Fiserv Forum crowd as Wisconsin wins it 80-77.
Next up for the Badgers is a Big Ten matchup against Maryland on Tuesday back at the Kohl Center.