Wisconsin versus Wake Forest: Game notes and top plays
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Coming off a strong performance in the Bahamas in the Battle 4 Atlantis, the Wisconsin Badgers fell to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Tuesday night at the Kohl Center 78-75.
Despite scoring 75 points, the Badgers could not come up with the necessary stops to win, and as a result, now sit with a 5-2 record on the season.
Here is a look back at some of the notable statistics and top plays to emerge from Tuesday night's defeat.
Game notes
- Wisconsin point guard Chucky Hepburn made a career-high six threes against Wake Forest and finished the game with a team-high 23 points. After a slow start to the season, including three-straight games with less than 10 points, he has now tallied 40 points in the past two games.
- Wisconsin senior Tyler Wahl scored in double-figures for the fifth time of the season versus Wake Forest with 17 points. Wahl missed his first five shots of the game, and ultimately missed a late layup for the Badgers, but he remains the team's leading scorer at 14.4 points per game.
- Freshman guard Connor Essegian has posted four games of 12 or more points in a row dating back to the Dayton game. He is averaging exactly 10 points per contest and ranks third on the team in scoring despite coming off the bench as the team's sixth man.
- As a team, Wisconsin allowed a season-high 78 points to Wake Forest. The Badgers came into the game surrendering only 54 points per game (No. 10 in the country), with their previous high of 69 coming in overtime against Kansas.
- With the loss, Wisconsin is now 12-12 overall in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge and snap a 3-game win streak at home in the event.
- Greg Gard is still seeking his 150th win as head coach. With exactly 149 wins, he is hoping to join Walter Meanwell, Bud Foster, and Bo Ryan with 150 wins when the Badgers play Marquette on Saturday.
- Wisconsin was outrebounded by Wake Forest 33-23. While much of that stems from the Demon Deacons shooting 54% from the floor, the Badgers did allow nine offensive rebounds in the game.
- The Badgers shot the ball well from three-point range, making 12-of-28 shots from deep (42%).
- Wake Forest guard Tyree Appleby led all scorers with 32 points on 11-of-16 shooting. The star points guard came in averaging a little over 16 points per game, and he orchestrated a personal 11-point run to power the Demon Deacons to the win. The Badgers could not stop him from getting to his right hand, and as a result, he put together a huge performance.
Top plays
#1: Chucky Hepburn's halfcourt buzzer-beater
Chucky Hepburn hit several big shots against Wake Forest, but his half-court make with time expiring in the first half was by far the most impressive. Hepburn once again beat the clock for the Badgers and helped Wisconsin go into halftime down by only three.
#2: Pretty passing leads to an easy Tyler Wahl layup
Wisconsin did an excellent job of moving the ball against Wake Forest to the point that the loss was not because of anything on the offensive side of the game. On this specific play in the second half, Max Klesmit hits Connor Essegian on a back-cut, and then Essegian makes the extra pass to Tyler Wahl for the easy lay-in. Essegian does a great job of getting into the paint and drawing the Wake Forest defense to him before dishing it to Wahl.
#3: Isaac Lindsey connects on a deep three
In the latter stages of the first half, the Badgers found themselves in foul trouble with Connor Essegian, Tyler Wahl, and Jordan Davis on the bench with two fouls apiece. As a result, Wisconsin struggled to generate much on offense. Reserve guard Isaac Lindsey came up with a critical three-pointer from very deep to pull the Badgers within two points late in the half and end a significant scoring drought.
Related links:
- Game recap: Wisconsin falls by three to Wake Forest
- The Badgers sign three scholarship players on National Signing Day
- Game notes and top plays for Wisconsin versus UW-Green Bay
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