MADISON, Wis. – Load management is not an option at the University of Wisconsin, especially with the Badgers amid their longest losing slide in six years.
Riding its veteran starting lineup, seeing the five starters average 34-plus minutes on the court, No.20 Wisconsin registered an old-school Big Ten victory with a 62-54 victory over Ohio State Tuesday at the Kohl Center.
“It’s February, and we got to do what we got to do,” head coach Greg Gard said. “I ride who is playing well … Games we have to go full throttle.”
For the first time in several weeks, it was UW’s core group that delivered in every category: scoring, rebounding, facilitating, and defending to halt the Badgers (17-8, 9-5 Big Ten) and their freefall down the conference standings.
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Here are my takeaways from Wisconsin’s first victory since January 26.
Ohio State guard Bruce Thornton (2) tries to turn the corner on Wisconsin guard Chucky Hepburn (23) (Mark Hoffman/USA TODAY Sports)
Crowl’s Assertiveness Was Evident
The first three possessions for Wisconsin were indictive of the night Steven Crowl was going to have. While the center opening the game with an open three-pointer was a nice boost, Crowl executing a driving layup was a sign of how he was going to play the Buckeyes: aggressively.
He wasn’t always successful, getting shots altered or swatted in the lane by 6-11 center Felix Okpara. Unlike his games against Purdue’s Zach Edey or Rutgers’ Clifford Omoruyi, Crowl kept attacking.
Crowl finished 7-for-14 and two assists, a low number considering how often Wisconsin got him and fellow forward Tyler Wahl (10 points, 7 rebounds) the ball in the post to either score or spark the offense.
“I thought he was more than effective in the post,” Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said of Crowl. “You give him credit.”
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Considering Wisconsin’s head coach demanded that action, it’s not surprising to see a renewed focus on low-post touches with UW finishing +13 on the glass (39-26) and +10 (17-7) in second-chance points.
“It was not a suggestion,” Gard said. “It was a mandate … He’s too good for us to not find every which way possible to touch him in (the post).
Hepburn and Klesmit Shine With Defense
Starting backcourt Chucky Hepburn and Max Klesmit combined to shoot just 5-for-15 from the floor, but their impact carried as much weight as UW’s starting frontcourt.
Undervalued as a defender, Hepburn matched up with sophomore guard Bruce Thornton and made the sophomore work from start to finish. Thornton finished with a game-high 18 points, but it took him 19 shots to reach that number. At halftime, Thornton made more turnovers (two) than field goals (one) on seven shots.
“In the Big Ten, most of the opponent’s teams start with the point guard, so that’s my main goal is to take the point guard out of the game because it disrupts the rhythm of the opponent,” Hepburn said. “My game will come throughout the game. I’m going to find it, but my main goal is to make sure we run the offense right and to defend the best that I can.”
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Hepburn’s offense did come with nine points on 3 of 5 shooting, including two three-pointers that were delivered in rhythm with good rotation off his hand. His first three came at a pivotal moment after Ohio State had cut a 17-point lead down to five.
Hepburn finished with seven assists, five rebounds, two steals, and no turnovers in 39 minutes, pushing his assist-to-turnover margin to 3.17 (second-best in the Big Ten).
“Just get the ball to Chucky, he’ll make the right play as you saw multiple times,” Crowl said.
After Jamison Battle took Wisconsin to task in Columbus (7-for-11, 18 pts), Klesmit delivered in his second shot at the senior. Averaging 14.1 points per game, Battle hit his lone shot with 16 seconds left and the game decided, leaving him with a season-low three points on 1 of 6 shooting.
“Max has taken that ownership of that chase guy really to heart,” Gard said, “and takes a lot of pride in it of really making it hard of the other team’s better shooters to even get looks off, let alone good ones.”
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First-Half Surge A Critical Factor
A sleepy first half was ignited during consecutive possessions late in the first half, courtesy of Klesmit and A.J. Storr.
Crowl was emphatically denied on a post shot by Okpara’s block, but Hepburn grabbed the offensive rebound and fed the ball to Klesmit, who buried the three-pointer in front of Ohio State’s bench.
On the next trip down the court, Hepburn forced a turnover against Thornton, running a two-man break with Storr. It wasn’t an alley-oop pass leading to a thunderous dunk, but Hepburn’s pass to Storr led to a two-handed slam.
Holtmann called timeout to try and stall the 7-1 run and the building momentum, but the Badgers continued pouring on the offense from the paint and the perimeter.
With the Buckeyes cold (missing nine of their last 10), UW’s 16-3 run over the final 5:30 gave the Badgers a comfortable lead at the break.
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UW started 6-for-16 from the field but made 5 of its final 8 shots.
By The Numbers
11 – Wisconsin picked up its 11th Quad 1/Quad 2 win of the season, joining only No.2 Purdue (11) and No.1 Connecticut (13) with at least 11 such victories
54 – Ohio State’s 54 points were the fewest Wisconsin has allowed to a Big Ten opponent this season and the fewest the Buckeyes have scored on the Badgers since a 72-48 UW win on March 8, 2015.
2 – The Buckeyes went 1-for-2 against the line against UW, a season-ow for a Badgers opponent in both categories.
52 – With two steals Tuesday, Hepburn upped his total to 52 for the season and ranks second in the Big Ten with 2.2 steals per game.
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151 – Wahl appeared in his 151st game, passing Nigel Hayes for second on UW’s career list. He trails only Brad Davison (161), who Wahl tied for fifth place on UW’s win list.
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For everyone who spent spring and early summer wondering if the sun had permanently relocated to Florida, congratulations.
Your reward is a week that may have you questioning every life decision involving long pants.
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The National Weather Service in Cleveland said Sunday that north central Ohio is headed for a prolonged stretch of hot, humid weather, with temperatures climbing into the middle 90s by midweek and heat indices pushing toward the triple digits.
The area includes Richland, Ashland and Knox counties.
After a perfectly reasonable Sunday with highs in the low 80s and a mix of clouds and sunshine, Mother Nature will likely turn the thermostat to “Ohio sauna” as residents head back to work.
Monday reaches the upper 80s before the real heat arrives. Forecast highs climb to 94 degrees Tuesday and peak around 96 degrees Wednesday, flirting with daily record highs. Thursday won’t provide much relief, with temperatures expected to remain in the lower 90s.
The NWS has issued a heat advisory in effect from Tuesday at noon to Thursday at 8 p.m.
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Even overnight temperatures won’t offer much comfort. Lows will struggle to fall below the mid-70s. That means air conditioners across north central Ohio are about to earn every penny of our rapidly climbing electric bills.
The NWS warns the combination of heat and humidity could create dangerous conditions for anyone spending extended periods outdoors.
You remember the advice from last summer, right?
Drink plenty of water. Take frequent breaks in air conditioning or at least a cooling fan. Avoid strenuous afternoon activities unless sweating through every article of clothing is part of the plan.
Complete outdoor chores during the morning hours. Wear lightweight clothing and check on elderly neighbors and others who may not have access to air conditioning.
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Never leave children or pets inside parked vehicles. When in doubt, always check when you leave your vehicle.
Please.
The first half of the week should stay mostly dry as a large dome of high pressure parks over the Great Lakes. By Friday, however, the atmosphere may finally decide enough is enough.
Scattered afternoon and evening thunderstorms are expected to return Friday and continue into the Independence Day weekend, adding potential natural fireworks to the evening skies.
The storms could briefly interrupt backyard cookouts and fireworks preparations, but they’ll also offer at least a chance to knock temperatures down a few degrees.
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Even so, highs are expected to remain around 85 to 90 degrees through next weekend, keeping conditions well above normal for early July.
If you’re looking for one positive takeaway, remember this: six months ago people in north central Ohio were complaining about scraping ice off windshields, shoveling snow and wondering if spring had been canceled.
This week, nobody will be asking where summer went.
Ohio State men’s hockey saw four players drafted on Saturday in the 2026 NHL Draft.
Unlike the NFL and NBA Drafts where when a player is drafted they can no longer play at the college level, the NHL allows players to play college hockey and the team that drafts them retains their rights for a certain amount of time.
Then again, using the NBA Draft as an example to describe how college eligibility works might not be the smartest thing to do since we saw some strange rulings over the past year on players who were already drafted and wanted to return to college.
The Buckeyes finished the 2025-26 season with a 14-21-2 record, missing the NCAA Tournament after losing in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game. All four of the players drafted on Saturday are incoming freshmen and are still scheduled to come to Columbus in the fall to don the scarlet and gray.
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With these four additions to the roster, Ohio State could be in for a bounce-back season in 2026-27.
Ben Wilmott – 92nd overall pick – Las Vegas Golden Knights
The Las Vegas Golden Knights traded forward Pavel Dorofeyev on Friday to the New York Rangers for a number of draft picks. One of those picks Las Vegas received was the 92nd overall pick, which the Golden Knights used on Saturday to select Ben Wilmott, who will turn 20 years old in August.
The Seattle native split last season between the London Knights and Barrie Colts in the Ontario Hockey League. In 37 games with London, Wilmott scored 12 goals and dished out 22 assists in 37 games. Wilmott would then play in 27 regular season games for Barrie, netting 15 goals and 17 assists before adding 11 goals and 11 assists in 20 games in the playoffs.
What stood out about Wilmott during his time in the OHL is the work he does around the net. Wilmott is a bit of a late bloomer and needs to work on his speed and his play away from the puck. If Wilmott is able to build on what he did in the OHL last year, the rest of the Big Ten could be in trouble this season.
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Evan Jardine – 121st overall pick – Columbus Blue Jackets
The most notable pick involving an Ohio State player on Saturday was the selection of Evan Jardine by the Columbus Blue Jackets with the 121st overall pick. The Blue Jackets traded down a couple times earlier in the fourth round, accumulating a few more picks before taking Jardine.
While Jardine was already committed to Ohio State, where he is playing his hockey in a few years could just be a few miles down the road from campus.
BUFFALO, NEW YORK – JUNE 27: Evan Jardine of the United States looks on after being drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets with the one hundred and twenty first pick during day two of the 2026 NHL Draft on June 27, 2026 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)Getty Images
Jardine has played in the USHL with the Youngstown Phantoms since 2023-24. Last year Jardine not only scored 27 goals and recorded 34 assists, he showed a bit of a mean streak, racking up 70 penalty minutes in 53 games. Much like Wilmott, Jardine has the ability to get under the skin of his opponents.
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Jardine has a great mix of skill and grit, which could lead to him being a fan favorite in Columbus for both the Buckeyes and the Blue Jackets.
This season we saw Jakub Dobeš take over as the starting goaltender in Montreal, helping the Canadiens reach the Eastern Conference Finals before they were eventually eliminated by the Carolina Hurricanes, who went on to win the Stanley Cup.
Tobias Tvrznik hopes to find success in the NHL in the future after he was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday in the fourth round.
The Czechia product will have a few years before he reaches the NHL, as he won’t even turn 19 until the end of July. Before committing to Ohio State, Tvrznik appeared in 39 games for the Wenatchee Wild of the Western Hockey League, posting a 3.10 goals against average and .913 save percentage.
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While the goals against average is a little high, Tvrznik’s save percentage is impressive. With a pretty crowded pipeline at goalie, Tvrznik can afford to spend some time in Columbus to develop.
Will Tomko – 204th overall pick – Seattle Kraken
The final future Buckeye selected on Saturday was Will Tomko, who was drafted by the Seattle Kraken in the seventh round with the 204th overall pick.
There are a lot of similarities between Tomko and Evan Jardine, who was taken in the fourth round by Columbus. Tomko and Jardine are similar in size, standing at six-feet tall and weighing about 185 pounds.
In 59 games with the Sioux City Musketeers, Tomko scored 24 goals and handed out 36 assists. Tomko also spent a lot time in the penalty box, racking up 115 minutes in the sin bin last season. If his play with Sioux City is any indication of what he brings to the table, expect to see Tomko all over the ice during his time as a Buckeye.
There are several sign posts on the way to the start of the college football season and the ability to see Ohio State on the banks of the Olentangy again, and one of them is when single-game tickets go on sale. In that case, you rejoice a little because the ability to purchase tickets to a game of your choice is now available.
Ohio State welcomes Ball State, Kent State, Illinois, Maryland, Oregon, Northwestern, and Michigan to Ohio Stadium this year, and you can now try to score tickets by going to the Ohio State football section of Ticketmaster and selecting the game you want to attend.
A quick search shows that tickets are still available for any home date if you are willing to buy resale tickets in most cases, though “The Game” against the Wolverines is much steeper in price than others. There’s a good bet that those tickets will disappear along with others, or become more expensive as the days go by, so if you were planning on trying to make that a day to remember, you might want to jump on things quickly.
The link to Ticketmaster also has the links to away games if that’s something you are interested in. The Buckeyes will travel to play at Texas, Iowa, Indiana, USC, and Nebraska. Likewise, some are resale tickets and will set you back much more significantly, but there are tickets available if you want to spend the money.
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Ohio State has a daunting schedule this year both at home and with away games and it’s almost a sure bet that some of these games will be hard-fought fourth quarter affairs.
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