Sports

Not again!

CHICAGO, Ill. — The Wisconsin men’s basketball team lost to Ohio State, 58-50, Friday in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament in Chicago, Ill. The Badgers are now 22-7 and will await an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament. The NCAA tournament selection show is Sunday at 5 p.m. CST.

UW was plagued by poor shooting throughout the game. For the game, Wisconsin shot just 34.0 percent (18-53) from the field, including .286 (8-28) from three-point range. Wisconsin starters Mike Wilkinson and Devin Harris went a combined 4-23 from the field.

Ohio State led for most of the second half. Wisconsin opened with an 11-1 run after halftime to take a 36-31 lead with 17:16 left. The Buckeyes scored the next nine points however and would never relinquish the lead. The closest Wisconsin came was one point, 42-41, after a Kirk Penney three-pointer with 8:16 left. OSU’s Brent Darby scored the next four points and UW never got closer than three points the rest of the way.

Penney led Wisconsin with 14 points while Alando Tucker had 13 and Freddie Owens added 10. OhioState’s Sean Connolly led all scores with 21 points while Darby added 16.

Midway through the first half, Wisconsin held a 17-10 lead following a Penney three-pointer. OhioState scored the next 14 points as the Badgers went without a field goal for 6:48. The Buckeyes went into halftime with a 30-25 after Zach Williams scored off an offensive rebound as time expired.

This is the third straight year Wisconsin has lost its first game in the Big Ten tournament.

— compiled from staff reports

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