A rare snow day for Penn State and free tickets to anyone who could make the men’s basketball game meant a pumped up crowd that saw the last unbeaten Big Ten team lose.
No. 11 Wisconsin fell behind 12-2 to start and lost to the Nittany Lions 87-83, as the crowd stormed the court.
AJ Storr scored 23 points and Steven Crowl added 17 for the Badgers (13-4, 5-1), who had their six-game winning streak snapped after the sloppy start.
Penn State led for all but 3 minutes, 24 seconds of the game.
Wisconsin did cut the lead to 39-35 at halftime, but it took until 5:01 remaining in the game before they went ahead. It didn’t last long. Penn State answered with a 17-10 run to hold on.
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard wasn’t pleased with his team’s start. He described the play as “too frenzied.”
“They got us on our heels right from the beginning,” Gard said. “We gave them some confidence early by playing into their hands a little bit and making life difficult on ourselves.”
Wisconsin entered averaging just over nine turnovers per game but committed eight in the first half alone.
The Badgers host Indiana on Friday.
TOP PHOTO: Wisconsin’s Tyler Wahl (5) goes to the basket against Penn State’s Qudus Wahab (22) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Gary M. Baranec)