The No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team had their six-game winning streak snapped Tuesday in Pennsylvania after they lost 83-87 to the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Wisconsin came into Tuesday’s game on top of the Big Ten standings with a perfect 5-0 record and a six-game winning streak dating back to Dec. 14.
The Badgers got outpaced at the beginning of the game as Penn State accumulated a 10-point lead in the first four minutes.
The Nittany Lions’ early game success was in part because Penn State guard Ace Baldwin Jr., who scored seven of the first 12 Penn State points and finished the game with 20 points despite scoring single digits in three of his last five games.
Wisconsin struggled to defend the Nittany Lions guards, with Wisconsin guards Max Klesmit, Chucky Hepburn and John Blackwell all picking up fouls in the first half. Klesmit and Blackwell picked up two fouls each in the half.
Blackwell, Storr and Badgers forward Steven Crowl kept Wisconsin in the game as they combined for 24 of the Badgers 35 first-half points. Despite their efforts, Wisconsin found themselves down four points at the half while they continued to miss 3-point shots offensively and struggled to defend Penn State’s guards.
The Badgers went back and forth with the Nittany Lions in the second half and kept the score within six points. Wisconsin eventually took the lead from Penn State with five minutes left in the game, but the Badgers maintained their lead for only 17 seconds.
Storr’s 16 second-half points gave Wisconsin more leeway in their offense in the second half, but the Badgers’ foul trouble and defensive struggles proved detrimental to their late-game tactics.
Nittany Lions guard Kanye Clary — who stands at 5-foot-11 — scored 19 points in the second half against Wisconsin’s defense and finished the game with 27 points. This was Clary’s 10th game of the season where he scored 20 or more points in a single game.
Clary also finished the game with seven free-throw attempts, which was notable in this game because both teams combined for 43 free-throw attempts. Two players, Klesmit and Penn State guard Nick Kern Jr., fouled out of the game.
This tough loss for the Badgers comes amidst their Big Ten schedule where Wisconsin matches up against Indiana next on Friday at the Kohl Center.
