Wisconsin
Ohio State falters late, drops home defeat to No. 15 Wisconsin
Home court has been the gold standard in Big Ten play. When the sun came up on Value City Arena on Wednesday morning, conference teams playing inside their own arenas had won nine straight Big Ten games and 14 of the last 15.
Ohio State, and by extension its home building, did not play along. With No. 15 Wisconsin in the house, the Buckeyes (12-4, 2-3 Big Ten) battled, held a lead with nearly five minutes to play but fell, 71-60, to the Badgers (12-3, 4-0).
The loss is Ohio State’s second in a row leading into Monday’s noon tip at Michigan.
Max Klesmit, who came in averaging 7.2 points per game, put Wisconsin ahead for good with a 3-pointer that made it 57-56 with 5:16 to play as part of a 10-0 run for the Badgers. Wisconsin would close the game on a 19-4 run
Scoreless at halftime, Klesmit scored all 18 of his points during the second half to power the Badgers.
Trailing 48-42 as the midpoint of the second half approached, Ohio State mounted a comeback thanks to Okpara. A Battle drive and finish against Chucky Hepburn made it 48-44, and two possessions later Okpara was in position to collect a Bruce Thornton 3-point miss.
He scored, drew a foul, flexed both of his arms and hit the free throw with 10:35 left to pull within one. Wisconsin got the ball to its primary post player, Steven Crowl, when he snagged an offensive rebound, but Okpara rejected the shot attempt with authority.
The Buckeyes then capitalized with a Scotty Middleton 3-pointer from the left wing, reclaiming the lead at 50-48 and marking an 8-0 run. Not only that, but it got the crowd roaring for the first time all night, giving Ohio State some much-needed extra juice.
It just wouldn’t be enough.
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The Buckeyes led for 16:37 of the first half but went into the locker room trailing 35-33 at the half. Battle’s fourth 3-pointer of the half came on a feed from Evan Mahaffey in the post, giving Ohio State a 33-29 lead with 1:49 to play, but Wisconsin’s John Blackwell answered 17 seconds later by swishing a 3-pointer over Battle to pull within a point.
The Buckeyes committed a shot clock violation when Mahaffey got stuck with the ball under the rim as the horn sounded, and with 46 seconds left Connor Essegian hit a 3 to set the halftime score. Both teams would have one more possession, but Gayle misfired on a 3 that gave Wisconsin the ball with about 20 seconds left and Chucky Hepburn missed a 3 at the buzzer.
It was a 6-0 run for the Badgers, who trailed by as many as eight points with 7:51 to play. It was Battle who gave the Buckeyes that 25-17 lead when he threw in a 3-pointer just before the buzzer after Thornton had kept the possession alive by tracking down a loose ball deep in Ohio State’s backcourt along the sideline.
The shot came a minute and a half after another dramatic make: with the shot clock about to expire, Battle collected the ball, stepped just behind the arc and swished the shot as the crowd roared in anticipation before the ball even left his fingers. He closed the half with 14 points and was 4 for 5 from 3-point range.
ajardy@dispatch.com
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Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde reflects on early March Madness exit
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde said the Badgers ‘thought we could do so many things’ in the NCAA Tournament before it ended abrupty with an upset loss.
Wisconsin men’s basketball has added a sharpshooting wing via the transfer portal.
Miami (Ohio) transfer Eian Elmer has signed with the Badgers, the team announced April 18. The 6-foot-7 wing will join UW with one year of eligibility remaining.
Elmer averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 49.8% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in 2025-26. His production helped the RedHawks go 32-2 and earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
“We are really excited to add another excellent addition to our spring signees,” UW coach Greg Gard said in a release. “Eian brings a wealth of experience and scoring punch as a 6-7 wing. … A terrific shooter, his skillset and production fit excellently into our plan as we build out next year’s team. Throughout our evaluation process, our staff loved his size, power and skill and truly believe he will thrive in our system.”
Elmer is Wisconsin’s third transfer portal addition since the end of the 2025-26 season, joining former George Washington guard Trey Autry and former Hofstra forward Victory Onuetu. UW also added Australian guard Owen Foxwell.
The additions of Autry, Onuetu and now Elmer leave Gard’s staff with three more roster spots to fill ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The Badgers are looking to replace much of their production from a 2025-26 team that went 24-11. Nolan Winter is expected to be the team’s only returning starter after John Blackwell and Aleksas Bieliauskas entered the transfer portal and Nick Boyd and Andrew Rohde exhausted their eligibility.
MILWAUKEE – Friday’s severe storms have passed. And with that, the threat of any severe weather has also passed for the immediate future as no storms or rain are expected for several days.
However, plenty of damage remains across southeastern Wisconsin as of Saturday morning, in addition to the ongoing flooding threat.
Several area rivers are at flood stage, and there are multiple river flood warnings in effect.
FOX6 Weekend WakeUp on Saturday begins at 6 a.m.
On the scene in the morning
What we know:
Farmstead damage in Franklin
FOX6’s Hayley Spitler is in Franklin on Saturday morning, April 18, getting a daylight look at the damage from last night’s storms.
Storm damage in Caledonia
Friday’s storms left quite the mark across southern and southeastern Wisconsin, including at L and L Farms and Greenhouse in Caledonia.
FOX6 Weather Extras
Local perspective:
Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:
FOX6 Storm Center app
FOX LOCAL Mobile app
FOX Weather app
Maps and radar
We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
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School and business closings
When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.
FOX6 Weather Experts in social media
The Source: Information in this post was compiled by the FOX6 Weather Experts.
How Aleksas Bieliauskas has grown in first season with Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard has high praise for Aleksas Bieliauskas about a month into the Lithuania native’s freshman season.
MADISON – One of Wisconsin men’s basketball’s departing transfers is headed to an SEC program with some connections to the Badgers.
Ex-UW forward Aleksas Bieliauskas has committed to South Carolina, he announced on April 17.
Bieliauskas left the Badgers after appearing in all 35 games as a freshman and making 28 starts. He averaged 4.9 points and 4.4 points in 20.2 minutes, and highlights of his freshman year included his five 3-pointers in UW’s upset over eventual national champion Michigan.
He’ll join a program with plenty of Wisconsin ties. South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris was an assistant coach at Wisconsin from 2010-17 on Bo Ryan and Greg Gard’s staffs. South Carolina assistant coach Tanner Bronson and director of video services Roman DiPasquale also are UW alumni.
Bieliauskas is the second of UW’s four departing transfers to commit to a new school. Reserve forward Jack Robison committed to North Dakota State on April 15. Starting guard John Blackwell and reserve forward Riccardo Greppi have not announced their next schools yet.
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