The #11 Wisconsin Badgers were undefeated in BIG10 Conference play heading into Tuesday night’s game against the Penn State Nittany Lions on the road. Wisconsin fell into the Penn State trap and the Badgers fell to the Nittany Lions on the road by a final score of 87-83.
The Wisconsin Badgers fell behind to the Penn State Nittany Lions early on in the game and tried playing catch up all night long. It didn’t help that Wisconsin played one of its worst defensive games of the season against one of the worst teams in the BIG10 Conference. This is a game they can learn from.
The Badgers had five different players score in double figures for Greg Gard’s squad. He told Max Ralph of Sports Illustrated after the game by saying:
“We got out of character early. That gave them confidence, and we were never able to get that back.”
They trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half. That is not ideal for the Wisconsin Badgers.
AJ Storr led the way with 23 points, five rebounds, and two assists. Steven Crowl recorded a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds for Wisconsin. John Blackwell scored 14 points, Tyler Wahl scored 11 points, and Max Klesmit also added 10 points for the Badgers.
Wisconsin shot 48.3% from the field and also 43.8% from three-point land in this one. As for Penn State, they shot 53.3% from the field and 40% from three. The biggest difference in this game was the turnover battle as the Badgers committed 13 turnovers and the Nittany Lions only committed six turnovers.
Penn State Head Coach Mike Rhoades Responds To Big Win Against the Wisconsin Badgers
With Penn State pulling off the upset against Wisconsin, fans stormed the court once the game was over. Head coach Mike Rhoades told Max Ralph of Sports Illustrated after the game by saying:
“This is what college basketball is all about. These are the moments. When you’re in the office at 6 a.m. or staying past midnight or you’re on the road recruiting, driving, eating a salad from McDonald’s on the way up the hill. Moments like this are why you do that stuff. It’s pretty cool.”
The Penn State Nittany Lions had three players score in double figures. Kanye Clary scored 27 points, grabbed four rebounds, and recorded three assists. Adrian Baldwin Jr. scored 20 points and Nick Kern also added 15 points for Penn State.
Baldwin also spoke to the media after the game and said:
“That was exactly the scouting report: Make them uncomfortable because they like everything easy, slow. That’s why me and Kanye heated the ball up for court and just kept disrupting them.”
With the loss, the Wisconsin Badgers dropped to 13-4 on the season and 5-1 in BIG10 Conference play. As for the upset win for the Penn State Nittany Lions, they improved to 9-9 on the season and 3-4 in BIG10 Conference play.