Despite late comeback effort, Iowa men’s basketball team falls to Wisconsin in overtime

After overcoming a five-point deficit with 23 seconds left in regulation, Iowa’s defense couldn’t stop the Badgers in overtime, as the Hawkeyes lost, 78-75

Grace Smith

Wisconsin forward Tyler Wahl high-fives associate head coach Joe Krabbenhoft during a men’s basketball game between Iowa and Wisconsin at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022. The Badgers defeated the Hawkeyes in overtime, 78-75.

Matt McGowan, Sports Reporter
December 11, 2022

After the Iowa men’s basketball team lost, 78-75, in overtime to Wisconsin Sunday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Badgers’ head coach Greg Gard said he needed to see his cardiologist. 

“Tuesday’s film session might be three hours long, there’s a lot,” Gard said in a postgame press conference. “They’re not making it easy on a coach. I’m trying to stay up to date with my cardiologist.” 

Hearts were pounding when the Hawkeyes called a timeout with 23 seconds remaining in the game. 

Down, 60-55,  Iowa junior guard Tony Perkins converted a second-chance layup to cut the game to one possession. On the ensuing inbounds play, Perkins stole the ball from Wisconsin freshman Connor Essegian and assisted redshirt junior Patrick McCaffery for the game-tying 3-pointer. 

“It was, ‘Everybody to the glass,’ so that helped,” graduate student Connor McCaffery said. “We didn’t want to foul right away … Yeah, we were down five, two possessions, but we had the ball so we still felt like we had a chance. I wouldn’t say it was anything too crazy.” 

For Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery, the late-game comeback can be valuable for the future. 

“Understanding how to manage the clock, and how to stay alive,” Fran McCaffery said. “In what was a two or three-possession game, it’s not over. I think we learned from that.” 

In overtime, Iowa’s offense was initially fueled by the McCaffery brothers, who combined for nine of the Hawkeye’s first 11 points in the period.

RELATED: Iowa men’s basketball drops first home game, conference game of season to Wisconsin in overtime

Yet for every Iowa basket, Wisconsin answered on the other end. Badgers’ senior Tyler Wahl and junior Jordan Davis hit back-to-back 3-pointers to keep the game tied as each team scored double-digit points in the five-minute overtime period. 

“Yeah, there were some breakdowns,” Patrick McCaffery said. “I went under on a screen…Tyler Wahl, unbelievable player, made a step-back three. He hasn’t shot it great so far this year, so that kind of stuff happens.”

Wisconsin took the lead for good when 7-foot junior Steven Crowl converted a hook shot jumper in the paint with 0:46 remaining. 

“It was great defense,” Patrick McCaffery said. “Took eight, nine dribbles, then he shot a tough hook shot and it went in. That stuff happens.”

While the Hawkeyes forced overtime and the Badgers hit difficult shots down the stretch, Patrick McCaffery still isn’t satisfied with the result. 

“I’m not a big moral victory guy,” Patrick McCaffery said. “You either won or you lost, and we lost. Sure, there are certain things you can take but there’s also things you can take the other way, too. So you’ve just got to kind of roll with the punches and move forward.”