Wisconsin’s road to the Final Four came to an end on Sunday night in front of a home crowd at Fiserv Forum. After losing their starting point guard and Big 10 All-Freshman Chucky Hepburn to an injury in the first half, the Badgers simply couldn’t make enough shots to defeat Iowa State, who now advances to the Midwest Regional of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
While March Sadness was definitely in the air on Sunday night, fans were still happy to host postseason college hoops in Milwaukee again, and we captured a number of key images from the doubleheader of Wisconsin versus Iowa State and Texas against Purdue.
Check our some of our key images from the second and final day of March Madness at Fiserv Forum:
1. Purdue reps the Big 10 in the Sweet 16
Along with the Michigan Wolverines, who pulled off a pair of upsets this weekend, Purdue will represent the Big 10 now that the regular season conference champions – Illinois and Wisconsin – were both defeated in the second round. Purdue defeated the Texas Longhorns last night to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019.
2. The dominos fall for Wisconsin
The turning point in the Badgers’ defeat yesterday came as starting point guard Chucky Hepburn suffered an ankle injury with about five minutes to play in the first half. Hepburn would later return to the floor in a boot and crutches – and evidenced by the game’s final outcome, his value to the Badgers was immeasurable. Wisconsin certainly had missed opportunities throughout the second half, but losing Hepburn was monumental.
3. “Basketball Jones”
Although in a losing effort, Andrew Jones and the Texas Longhorns put on a great show for the Milwaukee crowd. Jones laid down a massive dunk as Texas gave their all against the Purdue Boilermakers. The game was plagued by a large number of foul calls and free throws, but the contest was more than entertaining and was worth sticking around for on Sunday evening.
4. Kalscheur delivers
Iowa State's Gabe Kalscheur was perhaps the biggest reason that the Cyclones advanced to the Sweet 16 this weekend. The Minnesota native led Iowa State with 22 points in a low-scoring affair. Wisconsin had little answer for Kalscheur throughout the evening.
5. Wooden worthy
Iowa State's physical play disrupted Johnny Davis on Sunday night, and despite his 17 points, Davis only shot 4-of-16 on the night. Nonetheless Johnny Davis had a great season for the Badgers and is still a finalist for the John Wooden Award, which will be announced later this month. Vegas doesn’t have Davis as the favorite, but he had one of the best seasons for a Wisconsin player in years.
6. Until next time …
March Madness is set to return to Fiserv Forum in a few years, and this past weekend was proof that Milwaukee is a great site for postseason college basketball. You likely won’t see a Final Four make it way to Milwaukee, since the championship rounds are usually hosted at football stadiums, but fans will definitely welcome back March Madness in any capacity in the future.
