Sports
WATCH: Hepburn called bank? No. 10 Badgers upset 8th-ranked Purdue on banked 3 to win Big Ten title
Nothing like a banked 3-pointer to win the Big Ten title.
Freshman Chucky Hepburn tried to make it look like that was his intention but his teammates laughter gave away the fact that he didn’t call glass on the make with 1.5 seconds left that gave the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team a 70-67 win over Purdue.
“I knew we were about to be Big Ten champs after I released it,” Hepburn said, but couldn’t hold back a smile.
Teammate Johnny Davis thought a little differently.
“I’m not going to lie,” Davis said during the wild postgame celebration. “That was some bull… when that went in.”
He shouldn’t talk, however. Davis banked in a jumper of his own just inside the 3-point line to put Wisconsin up 67-64 with 25 seconds left.
The La Crosse native recovered from a poor-shooting first half to finish with 16 points for the 10th-ranked Badgers, who will at least share the regular season conference title — the 20th in school history.
Davis finished 5-for-12 from the field, after going 1-for-5 in the first half. The sophomore added eight rebounds, an assist and had three turnovers.
After Davis’ bank, Purdue missed on the ensuing possession and Brad Davison ended up on the line for Wisconsin. He missed the first of a 1-and-1. Purdue’s Jaden Ivey then tied the game with a 3-pointer with 8.9 seconds remaining, setting up the Hepburn bank.
The Badgers worked the ball to Hepburn, who calmly fired the winning shot from in front of Wisconsin’s bench. Hepburn celebrated by running toward the student section on the opposite end of the floor with his arms outstretched. The freshman guard finished the night with a career-high 17 points.
“He’s had a moxie and a calm to him all year,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. “He plays beyond his age, so to speak. At that position, that’s difficult. It’s like being a freshman quarterback.”
Neither team shot well — both just over 42%. The Badgers (24-6, 15-4) didn’t do themselves any favors with an 11-of-20 effort from the free-throw line, while No. 8 Purdue (24-6, 13-6) was 11 of 12.
Wisconsin has won five consecutive games heading into Sunday’s home matchup with Nebraska, which would give them their first outright conference title since 2015, when they went on to reach the NCAA Tournament championship game.
