The Badgers missed an opportunity to win the Big Ten title by losing to Nebraska 74-73.
Davis suffered a serious injury when he was fouled by Trey McGowens on a layup attempt. It was 17:32. Davis left the bench and went to the locker. The Badgers informed him that he had a lower back injury.
Davis averages 20.3 points per game and 8.3 rebounds. McGowens injured Davis, and he was then ejected.
“I’m optimistic that [he’s going to recover],” Greg Gard, Wisconsin coach, said without giving any further details about Davis’ injury.
“The officials knew my thoughts and knew them before it happened on other things that I witnessed.” Gard stated, “I’ll let it be and I’ll watch replay and make necessary phone calls.”
Wisconsin (24-6, 15-5), could finish alone at the top of the Big Ten if Illinois loses to Iowa on Sunday. The conference tournament begins Wednesday.
Alonzo Verge Jr. scored the last nine points for Nebraska, as part of a 12-0 rally that ended in the closing minutes.
The Cornhuskers (10-21 and 4-16) trailed Wisconsin 71-62, but held on to hold Wisconsin without a basket in 5:48. Verge led them to victory 74-71, with two free throws in 37 seconds. Verge finished the game with 26 points.
With 19.8 seconds remaining, Chucky Hepburn made two of the three free throws for Wisconsin. Verge fouled out.
CJ. Wilcher missed Nebraska’s bonus, but Hepburn beat No. 8 Purdue missed the bonus for Nebraska on Tuesday, but Hepburn — who beat No.
Gard stated, “He hit one Tuesday night that’s highly-contested off the glass, and he’s got one wide open. He hasn’t had one this wide open in practice long enough, so that’s part,” “We had a good look at the rim but there were many other factors that contributed to our failure today.”
Nebraska was joined by Trey McGowens, Trey’s brother and leading scorer Bryce McGowens. He averages 17 points per match and suffered a hand injury in Tuesday’s win over Ohio State.
Wilcher added 10 points, and Derrick Waker added 15 to the Huskers’ three-game win streak.
Wisconsin won five straight games with Brad Davison scoring 20 points. Chris Vogt and Tyler Wahl each added 13 points.
Gard stated, “This stings and this wasn’t us in many different ways but let’s not lose sight… although the day wasn’t good, the season has been amazing.”
“We have more to play. He said, “We’ll be able to see where we are on Friday in terms game time and such things. But everybody’s 0-0 so you move on to next one and get ready for it.”
Midway through the first period, Wisconsin was trailing Wisconsin by 12. Badgers rallied and went on a 12-2, running in front 49-47, after Davison’s two free throws. They were then in the bonus 16:18.
Verge tied the game with a layin but was called for technical foul, which sent him to the bench. With 13:40 remaining, Wisconsin was leading 57-49 with Davison hitting both free throws.
Fred Hoiberg, Nebraska coach, said that “we just kept our composure even though we lost our composure a bit.” “We felt like Alonzo had to be back on the court. He was at the media timeout of less than 12 minutes and made play after play after play.
Wisconsin was averaging 8.6 turnovers per match, which is the lowest in Division I. The Badgers made seven turnovers in the first ten minutes, allowing Nebraska to surge to a 30-18 lead. Nebraska also hit 12 of 21 shots.
BIG PICTURE
Nebraska: Nebraska could be the No. With a win by Northwestern against Minnesota on Sunday night, Nebraska could move up to the No. 13 seed in conference tournament
Wisconsin: The Badgers would be the No. 2 seed if Illinois wins Sunday. The conference tournament will be played at the No. 2 seed. Much depends on Davis’ status. … Wisconsin had won every one of its 15 previous games decided by six or less points.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
The Badgers were No. 8 Purdue 70-67 Tuesday. However, losing to Nebraska could mean that they are no longer in the poll.
UP NEXT
Nebraska will play in Wednesday’s first round of Big Ten Conference Tournament.
Wisconsin will play Friday in the quarterfinals for the Big Ten Conference tournament.
