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Wisconsin takes down Iowa 78-75: Game notes and top plays

An overview of some notable statistics, game notes, and top plays from Wisconsin's Big Ten win over Iowa in men's basketball.

Matt Belz

In this story:

The Wisconsin Badgers improved to 8-2 overall and 2-0 in Big Ten play on Sunday night with a three-point win in overtime against the Iowa Hawkeyes. 

Another close call for the Badgers, Wisconsin escaped Iowa City with a narrow 78-75 win behind a strong game from Tyler Wahl and a gritty road performance. 

Here is a look back at some game notes, and top plays from Wisconsin's win over Iowa. 

Contents

  1. Game notes
  2. Top plays

Game notes

  • Wisconsin is now 8-2 this season, marking the third straight season with an 8-2 record or better in the first 10 games of the year. The Badgers are also 2-0 to open Big Ten action for the fourth time under Greg Gard. UW also began Big Ten play 2-0 in 2017, 2019, and 2021. 
  • The Badgers are 5-1 away from the Kohl Center this season, their lone loss coming at the buzzer against Kansas as part of the Battle 4 Atlantis. 
  • Dating back to last season, Wisconsin is 11-2 in true road games over the last two years. 
  • Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard now sports an 86-50 Big Ten record, giving him the sixth-highest winning percentage (63.2%) in the conference since 1980. Former UW head coach Bo Ryan leads all Big Ten coaches in that span. 
  • The past seven games for the Badgers have been decided by five points or fewer. UW has a 5-2 record in those games. 
  • Wisconsin is now 7-3 in overtime games against Iowa, and Sunday night's matchup was the first overtime contest between the two teams since 2013. 
  • The Badgers have now won back-to-back games against the Hawkeyes, and have a slight 87-85 edge in the all-time series. 
  • Wisconsin finished the game shooting 50.8% from the floor on Sunday, the second-highest shooting percentage of the season for Greg Gard's squad. The Badgers are now 3-0 this year when shooting 50% or higher. 
  • UW did most of their damage in the paint, outscoring Iowa 52-36 in the lane. 
  • Iowa came into the game only turning the ball over 10 times per game (third-best in the B1G), but the Badgers forced 15 turnovers in the game. Wisconsin had a season-high 12 steals on defense. 
  • Tyler Wahl led Wisconsin with 21 points and seven rebounds, as well as four steals. He leads the Badgers in points per game and rebounds. Wahl has now topped 20 points in two games this year and five times in his career.
  • Chucky Hepburn had 11 points, six rebounds, four assists, and four steals against Iowa. He now ranks No. 3 in the Big Ten with two steals per game. His four steal performance was a new career-high. 
  • Steven Crowl dished out a career-high seven assists while also scoring in double-figures for the fourth time this year. The Badgers are now 15-2 when Crowl scorers 10 or more points. 
  • Freshman Connor Essegian scored 10 points versus Iowa, and he has now 10 or more points in six of the past seven games. 
  • Carter Gilmore had a career-high eight points on Sunday and also grabbed four rebounds off the bench. 

Top plays

#1: Steven Crowl makes the go-ahead basket in the lane late in OT

Big Steve made came up with one of the biggest shots of the game on Sunday evening. The 7-footer got into the lane with the shot clock ticking down and made right-handed hook shot to regain the lead for the Badgers. Wisconsin would never look back from that moment forward, but Crowl's shot in the paint was incredibly impressive and a big basket to help secure the win. 

#2: Chucky Hepburn buries a fadeaway jumper to beat the shot clock before halftime

Chucky Hepburn has consistently answered the call with last second heroics that past few games. The sophomore point guard hit a critical jumper to close out the first half and make it a tie game at the intermission. 

#3: Connor Essegian puts the finishing touches on the win with a two-handed dunk

With the Badgers clinging to the ball and a one-point lead late in overtime, Max Klesmit found Connor Essegian wide-open down the court for an easy breakaway dunk. The basket put an exclamation point on the win, though it may have been the wrong decision at the moment because it did allow Iowa a chance to tie the game with a last second shot. In the end, it didn't matter, as Wisconsin escaped with the win. 

#4: Chucky Hepburn and Tyler Wahl steals in overtime

While the second half was essentially a track meet with both teams shooting the ball well from the floor the Badgers came up with several critical defensive plays in overtime to steal a win from the Hawkeyes. Both Chucky Hepburn and Tyler Wahl had four steals in the game, but their steals late against Iowa in overtime were perfectly timed and helped Wisconsin close the game out. 

#5: Tyler Wahl with the pretty spin move and basket

Senior forward Tyler Wahl was the player of the game for the Badgers. He had seven points in overtime and helped propel Wisconsin to a win with 21 points. In the first half he made a beautiful spin move to get to the rim for an easy layup. 

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Matt Belz
MATT BELZ

Title: Publisher, Beat Writer for AllBadgers.com, a Sports Illustrated Channel Hello, my name is Matt Belz, and I am the site manager at All Badgers. I previously wrote for multiple years at Buckeyes 5th Quarter and have been the leading publisher here since March of 2022.  When I am not covering the Wisconsin Badgers football and men's basketball teams, I enjoy being outside and spending time with family and friends.  You can follow everything I write about on several different platforms. First and foremost on our site...AllBadgers.com You can follow me personally on Twitter at @savedbythebelz or check out our Facebook page at Wisconsin FanNation on Sports Illustrated.

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