MADISON, Wis. – Behind a career day from Chucky Hepburn, Wisconsin earned a 75-71 win over Liberty in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament on Sunday afternoon at the Kohl Center.
Hepburn scored a career-high 27 points, shooting 9-for-20 from the floor. He made a career-best nine free throws.
Tyler Wahl added 16 points and six rebounds, shooting 6-for-7 at the free throw line.
Steven Crowl had 14 points for the Badgers (19-14 overall), all coming in the first half.
Max Klesmit came up clutch down the stretch for UW, scoring all seven of his points in the final 2:09 of the game. That included the lone 3-pointer of the day for the Badgers, plus two huge free throws with six seconds remaining in the game to put Wisconsin up by four.
Wisconsin went 20-for-24 at the free throw line as a team.
The Badgers held a 37-34 halftime lead thanks to Crowl and Hepburn's outstanding first-half performance, combining for 33 points. UW shot 64 percent (16-25 FG) in the first 20 minutes.
Wisconsin outscored Liberty in the paint 46-36.Â
With the win, the two seed Badgers advance to the quarterfinals of the NIT and will face the winner between Oregon and UCF. Game date, location, and time will be announced later.
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