The No. 6 Wisconsin Badgers lost in an epic collapse against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, losing 80-72 in overtime after blowing a 19-point lead on Thursday.
It was the second consecutive season the Badgers blew a double-digit lead on the road against Nebraska, and their loss on Thursday was a major blow to a team that had been one of the most popular teams in the country since November.
The Badgers had several opportunities to close out the game, but allowed Nebraska to come back during the second half and could not finish it off in overtime, where the Huskers’ momentum shifted in their favor.
Here are three quick takeaways from the Badgers’ 80-72 loss to the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
scoring dry
The Badgers, who have produced one of the more efficient offenses in the country this season, reverted to their old ways with several scoring droughts in the second half, where they scored just 24 points before overtime.
After a strong start and taking a 47–29 lead at the 17:04 mark of the second half, the Badgers went on a four-minute scoring drought where Nebraska cut the lead to 10 points.
Then, after an AJ Storr three at the 12:58 mark, the Badgers went scoreless for the next two minutes, where Nebraska mounted a comeback to cut the lead to 50–49.
Once again, after a bucket by Chucky Hepburn at the 10:30 mark, Wisconsin had a scoring drought of 4.5 minutes until 6:00, although good defense kept the Badgers tied at 52 apiece.
Wisconsin was able to find some offensive rhythm as Max Klesmit went on an 11-0 run of his own, before Tyler Wahl got another 1-point chance to extend the lead to 65-59 at the 3:33 mark.
However, with the game tied, Wisconsin did not score for the next 3:13, giving Nebraska its first lead of the game at 67–65.
Once overtime hit, the Badgers struggled initially but cut the deficit to 74–72 at the 2:03 mark with a Tyler Wahl free throw.
from that point on? Nothing. Wisconsin has gone scoreless the past two weeks, missing a crucial Big Ten game, which now puts them in danger of losing the top spot in the conference when they face the Purdue Boilermakers.
bench scoring
After struggling to score and get stops in the first half, Nebraska looked to their bench to keep them active and it worked, as CJ Wilcher hit 70 percent of his shots with 22 points, including threes. 5/7 of them were included.
Wilcher led the team in scoring, while forward Juwan Gary, who played for the first time in weeks, had nine points and four rebounds in 33 minutes.
Head coach Fred Hoiberg made the executive decision to bench starting guards Jamar Lawrence and Casey Tominaga in favor of Wilcher and Gary, while backup guard Sam Hoiberg also had 22 minutes of action.
All three of the team’s bench players were at least +14 from the field, which proved to be the difference for Nebraska.
The Badgers relied too heavily on their starters, allowing only 10 bench points, although John Blackwell, Carter Gilmore and Nolan Winter all had negative plus-minuses.
Nebraska’s bench was key in their second half turnaround and ultimately lead to the victory.
turnover
Known as one of the more effective offenses in the country, the Badgers uncharacteristically struggled with turnovers on Thursday, losing the ball 16 times.
10 of those came in the second half where Wisconsin had a big collapse, with AJ Storr, Steven Croll, Max Kleismit and Chucky Hepburn each scoring two tries.
In the second half, even when it looked like the Badgers had a chance to make something happen defensively, they continued to struggle on the offensive side, being careless with the ball.
A total of 15 turnovers along with 31.4 percent shooting from the field in the second half were the biggest issue for the Badgers offensively, as they allowed Nebraska to get back into the game.
On the other hand, Nebraska turned it over just five times in the second half, while Wisconsin scored 13 points off second-half turnovers in the win.
