Friday afternoon was a frenzy for the Wisconsin Badgers, as they found out just 30 minutes before the game that star guard Chucky Hepburn would be unable to play, prompting John Blackwell to make his first career start against the Northwestern Wildcats.
After a dominant victory that saw Wisconsin beat the Maryland Terrapins 87-56 on Thursday, all signs were pointing up for the Badgers, but they were facing some adversity of their own with the injury bug.
Not only was Hepburn injured, but forward Tyler Wahl was playing through a knee injury of his own, while Blackwell suffered an ankle injury near the end of the first half in Friday’s game.