Tyler Wahl’s late free throws help No. 13 Wisconsin squeak by rival Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Tyler Wahl had 16 points and hit two free throws with 5 seconds left to help No. 13 Wisconsin beat rival Minnesota 61-59 on Tuesday night.
A.J. Storr had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Big Ten-leading Badgers (15-4, 7-1), who beat the Gophers (12-7, 3-5) for the seventh straight time. Max Klesmit scored 11 points and made a key steal down the stretch for the Badgers, who were 8 for 10 from the foul line.
“It saves us in games like this where every point matters,” Wahl said, “and we’ve got a lot of guys who can put it in confidently.”
As Elijah Hawkins drove into the lane with the Gophers down by one, Wahl — the fifth-year native of Minnesota playing in his home state for the final time — fought for position with Dawson Garcia and drew the foul call on Garcia.
After Wahl swished both free throws, the Badgers fouled twice to get the Gophers in the bonus and to the line where they went a woeful 5 for 13. Mike Mitchell made the first one and missed the second try with 3 seconds left, hustling to the baseline to grab his own rebound and find a clean shot to tie it. But the ball banked off the glass and barely missed at the buzzer.
Hawkins, who missed Minnesota’s last game with a sprained ankle, had 16 points, nine assists, five rebounds and two steals. Garcia had seven of his 10 points in the final five-plus minutes, including a layup with 2:37 left that gave the Gophers a 57-55 lead.
Klesmit missed a rushed 3 on the other end, and the Gophers were in good shape. But Hawkins had a top-of-the-key pass poked away by Klesmit to start a fast break that Storr finished with the tying dunk.
“He’s been on such a tear offensively that people forget he’s a tough-nosed defender first and foremost,” said coach Greg Gard, who notched his 100th Big Ten win. “He just made plays when we needed them.”
The Badgers, who took their first Big Ten loss last week against Penn State, brought the conference’s second-worst 3-point defense into the game (35.5% allowed). They let the Gophers make their first six attempts from deep after halftime and squandered a 15-point first-half lead.
Minnesota coach Ben Johnson fell to 0-5 against the Badgers, by a total of 16 points.
“You can stay down, or you can get back up,” Johnson said. “This train’s going to keep moving. We’ve got to find ways to get back up, and I think we will.”
BIG PICTURE
Wisconsin: Wahl, a product of Lakeville North High School about 25 miles south of Williams Arena, is 7-1 against the Gophers. Wahl’s defense on Garcia, who regularly played against him in high school, limited Minnesota’s leading scorer to 4-for-10 shooting after he had 52 points over his previous two games.
“We buckled down and we got better when we needed to,” Gard said. “That just shows me that we can.”
Minnesota: The first matchup all season with a ranked opponent for the Gophers came against their bitter border-state rival, producing the type of big-game atmosphere missing too often here in recent years. The last time they beat a team in the AP Top 25 was nearly four years ago, against Purdue.
UP NEXT
Wisconsin hosts Michigan State on Friday.
Minnesota plays at Penn State on Saturday.
TOP PHOTO: Wisconsin forward Tyler Wahl (5) drives past Minnesota forward Pharrel Payne during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Craig Lassig)