Wisconsin falls in opening round of the Big Ten Tournament

CHICAGO, Ill. (WSAW) - Any chances for the Badgers to improve their NCAA Tournament resume are now gone after they fell in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament to Ohio State 65-57 Wednesday.

Wisconsin came out of the gates slow as the 12-seed in the tournament, their lowest seeding in tournament history. Ohio State, representing the 13-seed, doubled up the Badgers in the first half, leading 36-18 at intermission.

The Buckeyes continued to pour it on in the second half, leading by as many as 27 points in the game. However, the Badgers started to put together a run. They cut the lead to as close as four points late in the game. However, the Badgers’ inability to make three’s proved to be their downfall as Ohio State hit free throws down the stretch to hang on and win 65-57.

Tyler Wahl led the Badgers in scoring with 19 points, chipping in ten rebounds for a double-double. As a team, the Badgers show just 34% (21-61) from the field and a dismal 18% (4-22) from three. On the flip side, the Buckeyes shot over 60% from the field in the first half, ending the game at 52% from the field and 46% from the floor.

Ohio State moves on to face four-seed Iowa Thursday afternoon. Wisconsin now sits at 17-14 overall. Many NCAA Tournament projections had Wisconsin in the ‘First Four Out’ category entering the day. They now will wait to hear their fate Sunday evening during the NCAA Tournament selection show.