MINNEAPOLIS — Fifth-seeded Wisconsin used some hot shooting and strong defense to roll past 12th-seeded Maryland 87-56 on Thursday afternoon in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.

Player of the Game: Steven Crowl

It’s not totally accurate to say “as Steven Crowl goes, so goes the Badgers,” but his importance can’t be understated. Coming into the game, Wisconsin was 14-4 when Crowl played at least 29 minutes and 5-8 when he didn’t. That latter record improved Thursday because Crowl got his work done early and didn’t need to be on the floor for much of the second half. He scored 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting, including going a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. His day was done after four minutes to open the second half and he ended up playing just 18 total. But his efficiency in the limited minutes was off the charts.

The good: The 3-point shooting

Wisconsin has not been a good 3-point shooting team this year. Through 31 games, the Badgers were making just 33% of their shots from deep. But they started out hot against Maryland and never truly cooled off. Crowl hit the first one, followed by AJ Storr and then Chucky Hepburn. As a team, they hit their first six and ended up going 10-for-13 in the first half. They hit six more after the break to finish 16-for-25. It was the Badgers most 3-pointers in a Big Ten Tournament game and tied for the third-most in any game. Eight different guys hit at least one.

The not so good: A little sloppy

As good as Wisconsin was on offense, they were still a little loose with the ball. They turned it over 13 times, which Maryland turned into 13 points.

Stats of the Game: 25

That is how many assists Wisconsin had 31 made field goals. It was the Badgers most in a game this season and the most it has had in a postseason game. Hepburn accounted for eight of them, which matched a career-high. His backcourt mate, Max Klesmit, had five.

What They Said

Wisconsin coach Greg Gard

“I think we’re starting to see more of what we were back in January. I felt that the last week or so, that we were trending back in the right direction and really starting to click, and today it showed again.”

In Case You Missed It

— The game was a homecoming of sorts for Crowl, Tyler Wahl and Nolan Winter. The trio all grew up in the Minneapolis area and had plenty of family and friends in the crowd.

— Blackwell went 4-for-6 from beyond the arc and is now 10 for his last 17 over the last five games. He has also scored at least 17 points in three-straight games.

— Wisconsin’s much-maligned defense had a strong game, limiting Maryland to just .889 points per possession. The Terrapins 56 points were their fewest in their last nine games.

— Connor Essegian came off the bench firing. After playing a total of two minutes in the last two games, the sophomore scored nine straight points for the Badgers, including a pair of 3-pointers. They were his first made shots from the field since Feb. 10.

— Hepburn was dealing with a right knee injury Thursday. Several times he left the bench area to try and stay loose while he wasn’t in the game.

— Wisconsin set or tied six school Big Ten Tournament records in Thursday’s game.

Points: 87
Field goals: 31
3-pointers: 16
3-point %: 64%
Rebounds: 42
Assists: 25

What’s next?

Wisconsin (20-12) will face fourth-seeded Northwestern (21-10) on Friday afternoon in Minneapolis with tipoff coming around 1:30 p.m.