Wisconsin 45, Minnesota 44
MADISON, Wis. -- Traevon Jackson's jumper with just under 2 seconds left gave Wisconsin a 45-44 victory over No. 12 Minnesota Saturday at the Kohl Center.
Jackson's shot came as the shot clock expired and needed a few extra bounces of the rim, but Wisconsin still needed to survive a final stand by the Gophers.
With 1.8 seconds left, Rodney Williams drew a foul from Mike Bruesewitz. He made one of two free-throw attempts to seal the victory for Wisconsin, which snapped a two-game losing streak and stayed a game behind Michigan State in the Big Ten Conference.
Jackson finished with nine points for the Badgers, who were led with 10-point efforts from Ryan Evans and Sam Dekker.
Erratic shooting has plagued the Badgers for much of the season and Saturday was no different. The Badgers went 17 of 46 from the field (37 percent) and made just 7 of 22 3-pointers.
They weren't alone in their cold-shooting ways.
Minnesota shot 35.6 percent from the field, but kept up with Wisconsin by making 5 of 10 3-pointers. Andre Hollins led the way, making three of four attempts and finished with a game-high 20 points to go along with five assists and two steals.
Mbakwe pulled down 10 rebounds but finished with just eight points, snapping a streak of four straight games with a double-double.
Wisconsin and Minnesota each came into the game needing a victory to snap early losing streaks and keep pace in a tight Big Ten Conference race. The Badgers had lost back-to-back contests, falling at Iowa last Saturday and then at home against Michigan State on Tuesday. The Gophers, meanwhile, had dropped three in a row, the most recent a 55-48 decision at Northwestern Wednesday.
Neither team got off to a particularly sharp start, going a combined 5 for 15 from the field.
Evans' two free throws with 4:46 to play in the first drew an ovation from the Kohl Center crowd, thanks to the Badgers' woeful 39 percent effort from the line in a loss to Michigan State earlier in the week. Those shots sparked a 13-2 Wisconsin run to close out the half, allowing the Badgers to take a 24-21 lead in the final seconds of the half before Hollins hit three free throws to tie the game 24-24 with 0.2 seconds left.
Late in the second half, Wisconsin snapped a 5:03 scoring drought when Jackson connected on a jumper from the free-throw line with 52 seconds to play. After a Minnesota time out, Hollins was called for an offensive foul, giving Wisconsin the ball with 39.1 to play. Jackson let the clock run down before putting up his final shot, in traffic.
Notes: Minnesota came into the game averaging 16.2 offensive rebounds per game but recorded just one in the first half. Wisconsin was averaging 9.1 turnovers a game but committed eight in the first half. ... Minnesota leads the all-time series between the teams, 100-92. ... The Badgers have won 15 of the last 16 meetings with Minnesota in Madison, where the Gophers have won just once since 1994.
