Wisconsin 61, Oregon 58: Last word

Second-seeded Wisconsin rallied from an eight-point deficit to knock top-seeded Oregon out of the NIT with a 61-58 victory that sent the Badgers to Las Vegas for the semifinals.

Player of the Game: Max Klesmit

The junior is quickly getting a reputation for coming up in the clutch. Roughly 48 hours after scoring seven points in the final minutes in a win over Liberty, Klesmit delivered another big effort in the closing stretch Tuesday night. He had a team-high 18 points, including 10 in the final 9:40 to help the Badgers erase an eight-point lead. It included a 3-pointer to give Wisconsin a 56-55 lead with 1:42 left and two free throws with 2.3 seconds left to give his team a three-point lead.

“He’s been terrific, especially here in the last three, four weeks,” coach Greg Gard said. “Obviously, the numbers show it in different stats, but in the timeouts and the huddles, he is very vocal, very encouraging, very competitive. He probably talked more in those huddles down the stretch than I did because he did not want to lose. That’s great from a guy that’s from the state and where that uniform means a ton to him.”

Klesmit has now scored in double figures in four of Wisconsin’s last eight games and is shooting 47.7% (21-for-44) from beyond the arc since February 11.

The good: Kept battling

There is no quit in this team. They could have called it a season after not making the NCAA Tournament and moved on to next year. Few would have blamed them after such a frustrating year. Even on Tuesday they had a chance to give up as Oregon landed punch after punch. Instead, the group rallied once again, overcoming that late deficit to get the win and punch their ticket to the NIT semifinals.

“One thing that can never be denied is their perseverance and their unwillingness to quit,” Gard said. “And there’s no give in for this group, no flinching. No matter what the score is, and we’ve been in so many of these games this year, that their willpower to continue to battle possession by possession has served them well.”

The not so good: Finishing around rim

Anyone that watched the Badgers this season knows they have struggled a lot at the rim. Missed layups have become commonplace and likely cost them a game or two at some point this year. It almost did again against the Ducks, as they went just 8-for-22 (36.3%) around the basket. The biggest offender was probably Tyler Wahl, who struggled with Oregon’s size, going 1-for-9 from the field with his only make coming on a 3-pointer.

But as is usually the case with the senior, he delivered in other aspects, including dishing out six assists, grabbing seven rebounds and grabbing a pair of steals.

Stats of the Game:

12 — That’s how many points Chucky Hepburn had, a significant step back after putting up 27 points against Liberty. He really struggled with his shot, going 4-for-15. But, like Klesmit, he came up big late, hitting a 3-pointer with 56 seconds left that gave the Badgers a lead they would not surrender.

2 — That’s how many turnovers Wisconsin had in the second half. It was a huge improvement from the first half when the team coughed it up eight times, which is near their season average for an entire game.

92.3 — That’s what Wisconsin shot from the free throw line. After being miserable much of the year, the Badgers are shooting 82.1% from the stripe in the last seven games.

In Case You Missed It

— Tuesday’s game was the fourth time Wisconsin and Oregon have met in the postseason, with the first three coming in the NCAA Tournament. With the win, the Badgers improved to 3-1 in those games.

— Wisconsin how has 20 wins on the year. It’s the 15th time in the last 17 seasons the Badgers have won at least 20.

— There were just 3,300 fans in attendance for the 6 p.m. tip in Eugene. The lack of support clearly upset coach Dana Altman.

What’s next?

Wisconsin (20-14) will face North Texas (29-7) in the NIT semifinals on March 28 in Las Vegas. The Mean Green earned their spot with an overtime win at Oklahoma State on Tuesday.