Sophomore forward Ethan Happ and senior forward Nigel Hayes might have combined for 49 of the No. 17 Wisconsin Badgers’ (5-1 Big Ten, 16-3 overall) 78 points Saturday evening, but when the Badgers needed a basket most, it was the third member of Wisconsin’s big three, senior guard Bronson Koenig, who made the key play.
Trailing by two points with less than a minute to play in overtime, Koenig curled around two pin-downs and elevated for a 3-pointer over Minnesota’s Nate Mason. The Badgers, who for 44 minutes ran their offense through the post, turned to a 3-point attempt to try and retake the lead. With 44 seconds remaining in overtime, Koenig buried the jumper and Wisconsin held on, knocking off the Golden Gophers (3-4, 15-5) 78-76.
Koenig finished the game with only 11 points and took just eight shots, but when Wisconsin needed a big play, the senior guard delivered.
The Badgers and Gophers went back-and-forth for much of the game, with neither team ever holding a double-digit lead.
Wisconsin trailed by two points at halftime, but tied the game on the very first possession as Hayes knocked down a jump hook. Throughout the second half and overtime, the Badgers ran their offense almost exclusively through Hayes and Happ, as the duo combined to score 30 of UW’s 44 points over the game’s final 25 minutes.
The Badgers looked to be on their way to yet another victory with just under a minute to play in regulation, but a traveling violation by senior guard Jordan Hill gave the Golden Gophers the ball with 22.2 seconds on the clock.
Ten seconds later, Minnesota’s Akeem Springs elevated over Hill and tied the game 67-67 with a 3-pointer of his own.
Koenig fumbled the basketball away on UW’s final possession and the Badgers and Golden Gophers headed for overtime. The two teams continued to trade leads in the extra session before Koenig’s late 3-pointer put the Badgers ahead for good.
With 13 seconds to play, Happ banked in the front end of a 1-and-1 but missed the second, giving the Golden Gophers the ball with just over 10 seconds to play.
The Golden Gophers swiftly pushed the ball up the floor, but Springs missed what would have been a game-winning, 3-pointer, and as a result, UW squeaked out a conference road win.
Happ finished with a career-high 28 points on 11-of-19 shooting, and added 12 rebounds, six assists and five blocks in one of the finest performances of his career.
After struggling from the field in UW’s victory over Michigan earlier in the week, Hayes fared much better Saturday, finishing with 21 points on 9-of-18 shooting.
Amir Coffey led the way for the Golden Gophers with 19 points, who now fall to 3-4 in conference play. Saturday’s overtime loss to the Badgers is already Minnesota’s second overtime home loss of the Big Ten season.
The Badgers return home Tuesday for a date with the Penn State Nittany Lions.
