Taveion Hollingsworth scored a team-high 22 points and Charles Bassey shot 7-for-8 from the field to finish with 19 points to lead host Western Kentucky to an 83-76 upset over No. 15 Wisconsin in Bowling Green, Ken.
The Hilltoppers (7-6) shot 55.2 percent from the field and outscored the Badgers (10-3) 53-42 in the second half to pull off the shocker.
Jared Savage contributed 16 points and sophomore guard Josh Anderson added 15 points. Freshman guard Dalano Banton had a huge effort with eight points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for the Hilltoppers.
Brad Davison led the Badgers with 26 points, but All-American candidate Ethan Happ shot 9-for-23 to finish with 20 points and 12 boards.
The back-and-forth second half featured numerous momentum swings.
Hollingsworth hit a jumper and Savage scored on a layup to tie the score at 38-38 with 17:52. Banton canned a 3-pointer to give the Hilltoppers a 41-38 edge, while Anderson's dunk extended the lead to 43-38. Four-plus minutes later, Happ and Davison each scored on a layup to tie the score at 52-52.
But Banton and Hollingsworth followed by each drilling a 3-pointer to give the Hilltoppers a 63-55 lead with 9:16 left.
Davison countered with two baskets in a 25-second span to slice the deficit to 63-59. Bassey and Hollingsworth hit jumpers to push the lead to 69-59 at the 5:51 mark. Davison sparked a 6-0 run with four points but then Hollingsworth drilled two straight jumpers to increase WKU's lead back to 73-65.
The Hilltoppers, No. 148 in the NET ranking, set the stage for a possible upset with a strong first half, managing to keep the game close despite trailing 34-30 at the break.
--Field Level Media
Wisconsin | Western Kentucky | |
Brad Davison 26 | Scoring | Taveion Hollingsworth 22 |
Ethan Happ 3 | Assists | Dalano Banton 10 |
Ethan Happ 12 | Rebounds | Dalano Banton 13 |
Brad Davison 5 | Free Throws Made | Charles Bassey 5 |
Brad Davison 4 | Steals | Josh Anderson 2 |
Nate Reuvers 1 | Blocks | Charles Bassey 4 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Wisconsin | 76 | 45.6 | 6-21 | 8-11 | 9 | 29 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
Western Kentucky | 83 | 55.2 | 6-15 | 13-16 | 19 | 34 | 7 | 5 | 13 |