The No. 23 Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team defeated the Chicago State Cougars 80-53 Dec. 22 at the Kohl Center. The Badgers came into this game after a 15-point victory against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks the prior week at the Kohl Center.
The Cougars used a full-court press against Wisconsin at the start of the game that made it difficult for the Badgers to score in the first six minutes.
Eventually, Wisconsin broke through Chicago State’s defense, and AJ Storr put on a scoring clinic in the first half. Storr scored 20 of his 29 points in the first frame, which was the second time this season Storr scored 20 points in a half and the third time he scored 20 or more points in a game.
After the Badgers figured out the Cougars’ defensive scheme, Wisconsin finished the first half on a 10-2 run and with a 13-point lead.
However, tragedy struck just two minutes into the second half when Wisconsin guard Chucky Hepburn stole the ball from a Chicago State player and dropped to the floor on the fast break.
Hepburn appeared to injure his right leg on the play and did not return for the remainder of the game. Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard later said Hepburn appeared unbothered by his leg after the game and walked around the locker room perfectly fine.
With Hepburn out for the remainder of the game, Gard looked toward his bench players to continue the Badgers; success. Wisconsin guard John Blackwell came in for Hepburn, he scored six points and grabbed seven rebounds in the second half.
Despite his low scoring, Blackwell helped the Badgers defensively and finished the game with nine rebounds, one block and a steal.
Even with one of their starting guards out, Wisconsin cruised to the final buzzer and pulled their starters with five minutes remaining in the game.
In a postgame press conference, Gard had high praise for Storr after he scored his career-high against the Cougars, according to the Associated Press.
“He might be our most improved player in the last two months, specifically defensively,” Gard said. “He’s got areas to obviously get better at, but he’s come a long way in a short time.”
The Badgers moved to 9-3 on the season and will host the Iowa Hawkeyes in their Big Ten home opener on Jan 2.
