Badgers continue their stunning ways
MINNEAPOLIS – Wisconsin coach Greg Gard and his players will have a business-filled Sunday.
The NCAA Tournament selection show will have to wait a bit. UW will be playing for a Big Ten Tournament title.
Despite seeing two starters and three players overall foul out, the fifth-seeded Badgers forced overtime and then made two huge plays in the final 21.6 seconds to stun Purdue, 76-75.
Chucky Hepburn drew a charging call with 21.6 seconds left. Max Klesmit hit a floater with 4.8 seconds left to give UW a one-point lead and UW survived on when Lance Jones’ desperation threepointer was off the mark.
The Badgers (22-12) continued their improbable run through the league tournament and are set to face either second-seeded Illinois (23-8) or thirdseeded Nebraska (23-9) at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
UW’s last appearance in the title game was in 2017 in Washington, D.C. The second-seeded Badgers suffered a 71-56 loss to eighth-seeded Michigan.
Purdue (29-4) should remain in the running for a No. 1 seeding in the NCAA field, set to be announced Sunday.
UW took the floor Saturday with both Hepburn (knee) and Tyler Wahl in the starting lineup.
The Badgers were called for 15 fouls in the first 20 minutes, which allowed Purdue to hit 13 of 18 free throws.
Five UW players had two fouls apiece and one (Nolan Winter) had three in the opening half.
Crowl, Wahl and Winter all fouled out and Purdue finished 24 of 32 from the line compared to just 5 of 9 for UW.
Hepburn, who scored just before the regulation buzzer to force overtime, was
fabulous. He hit 9 of 12 shots and finished with 22 points. Klesmit added 11, along with five assists and five rebounds.
AJ Storr, who scored a college-best 30 points in the quarterfinal victory over Northwestern, scored 14 points in the opening half Saturday. He finished with 20 and six rebounds.
Crowl, 6 of 8 from three-point range and 15 of 20 overall in the victories over Maryland and Northwestern, looked to score whether Purdue center Zach Edey was on the floor or on the bench. He contributed 11 points, three rebounds and two assists but fouled out in the final minute of regulation.
Edey (24.3 ppg, 11.8 rpg) played just seven minutes in the first half after picking up a foul and a technical foul less than three minutes into the game. He scored six points in the opening half and finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds. He hit 14 of 19 free throws.
Neither team could pull away in the second half or overtime.
Hepburn scored on a drive with 6.5 seconds left to cut Purdue’s lead to 6564 and the Badgers called a timeout to set their defense.
Crowl fouled Edey – his fifth of the game – with 6.1 seconds left.
Edey, 5 of 9 from the line to that point, made just 1 of 2 attempts. UW got the ball into the front court and called a timeout with 2.7 seconds left.
Wahl got the ball in to Hepburn, who had a clear path to the basket and scored before the buzzer to force overtime.
Wahl scored inside to give UW a 6866 lead in overtime but fouled out with 3:40 left. Edey this time hit both attempts.
After Storr missed a three-pointer, Winter fouled out trying to box out Edey with 3:00 left. Edey again hit both shots and Purdue led, 70-68.
Storr followed with a tip-dunk for a 70-70 tie with 2:40 left but Edey was fouled in the lane with 2:16 left. John Blackwell was fouled with 1:59 left but missed the first of bonus free throws.
After Purdue failed to score, Storr forged a tie with a jumper with 1:23 left. Storr fouled Jones with 58.7 seconds left, however, and Jones hit 1 of 2 free throws for a 73-72 Purdue edge.
Storr missed another three-pointer and Edey was fouled on the rebound with 46.0 seconds left. Edey hit both shots and Purdue’s lead was 75-72.
Hepburn scored on a drive with 38.6 seconds left and the Boilermakers’ lead was down to one.
After a Purdue timeout, Hepburn drew a charge with 21.3 seconds left. The Badgers would get another shot at taking down Purdue.
Klesmit took his shot and felled the Boilermakers.