Wisconsin’s offense goes cold, falls to North Texas in NIT Semifinal

LAS VEGAS, NV. (WSAW) - Wisconsin’s offense went cold down the stretch as the fell to North Texas, 56-54, in the NIT Semifinal to end their season.

Wisconsin led by 12 at halftime, and carried a 54-46 lead with 9:08 left in the game. They failed to score from that point on, as North Texas reeled off a 10-0 run to take the lead with 2:02 remaining. The Badgers missed multiple chances to tie the game up in the closing seconds, including turning the ball over with two seconds left.

“The inability to keep our momentum going offensively obviously, created some tentativeness. It’s more of a credit to them. I think they dialed up a little more ball pressure in the second half,” head coach Greg Gard said.

Chucky Hepburn had 15 points in the first half and was held scoreless in the second half. Wahl and Essegian were behind him with 12 points each. The Badgers scored just 13 points in the second half.

“The way it ended was kind of a cap to how the season went where we get some good things going and then something happened, we take a step backwards. We take a few steps forward, a few steps backwards,” forward Tyler Wahl said.

Wisconsin ends their season with a 20-15 record.