The Wisconsin Badgers were in yet another close game, pulling out a 75-71 victory over the Liberty Flames in the 2nd round of the NIT on Sunday.
The first half was the Steven Crowl and Chucky Hepburn show, with the center and point guard accounting for 33 of Wisconsin's 37 points in the half. Crowl was able to feast against the undersized Flames but got into some foul trouble, including a technical and a flagrant after some rough play on the offensive end.
Because of that foul trouble, the second half was mostly the Chucky Hepburn and Tyler Wahl show. Wahl had 14 of his 16 points in the second half while Hepburn added another 8 onto his total, bringing him to 27 on the day, a new career high for him.
Liberty senior guard Darius McGhee put on a show, scoring 31 points on 10-25 shooting. The Flames didn't have their best shooting day beyond the arc, just 30% on 8-27 attempts. Three point shooting has been their calling card all season but they missed their final 7 shots from three, allowing Wisconsin back in the game.
Wisconsin meanwhile had one of their worst three point shooting games all season, making just one triple on 15 attempts. But they were able to feast inside and 46 of their 75 points came in the paint.
Next up for Wisconsin is the Quarterfinals of the NIT, facing off against either Oregon or UCF. If UCF wins, the next game will be at the Kohl Center. If Oregon wins, the Badgers will travel out to Eugene.