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Top moments from the Wisconsin Badgers 2022-23 season

What were the best moments of the season for the Badgers in 2022?

Following a disappointing finish to the regular season, the Badgers have found themselves in a rather difficult position.

It is still yet to be seen whether the Badgers will receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament, play in the NIT, or possibly neither.

Although the season didn’t quite reach preseason expectations, there were still bright moments from the 2022-23 campaign.

Here’s a look at the top five moments of the season:

Badgers beat Stanford in the Brew City Battle

On November 11, the Badgers played the Stanford Cardinal at American Family Field in their second game of the season.

In front of a crowd of 17,925, the Badgers led by Jordan Davis and Chucky Hepburn went on to win 60-50.

It was the team’s first game played in a baseball stadium since 2015 and it didn’t disappoint.

Midway through the game, the stadium played “Jump Around” by House of Pain, continuing the famous Badger football tradition and sending the student section into a frenzy.

It was a fun way to begin the season and most definitely memorable for the fans in attendance.

Badgers defeat in-state rival Marquette in overtime thriller

On December 3, the Badgers rolled over to Milwaukee and pulled off possibly the most exciting win of the season at the Fiserv Center.

In an overtime thriller, the Badgers defeated Marquette 80-77 behind impressive performances from Chucky Hepburn and Tyler Wahl.

Hepburn finished with 19 points and knocked down 5 of his 6 three-point attempts.

Wahl scored 15 points and had 7 rebounds as well.

The Badgers jumped off to a hot first half, outscoring Marquette 41-30. However, Marquette climbed back into the game, and the second half went back and forth.

Hepburn missed a possible game-winning three at the end of regulation, and the game went to overtime tied at 70.

But in overtime, Max Klesmit finished a clutch lay-up with just seconds remaining to seal the win for the Badgers.

Badgers upset 13th-ranked Maryland @ home

In a strong defensive showing, the Badgers knocked off the 13th-ranked Maryland Terrapins the following game.

Chucky Hepburn led all scorers for the Badgers with 13 points and the Badgers held on to pick up their only ranked win of the season.

In arguably the first big game played at the Kohl Center this season, the Badgers showed up and officially put themselves back in the national spotlight.

In what was supposed to be a “rebuilding” season, the Badgers managed to pull off two massive back-to-back wins.

This game was also the Big Ten opener for the Badgers, and what better way to begin than beating a top-15 opponent?

Tyler Wahl leads Wisconsin in road win @ Iowa

Tyler Wahl had one of his biggest games of the season thus far in the Badgers' overtime win in Iowa City.

Wahl led all scorers with 23 points as Wisconsin defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 78-75 in yet another overtime thriller.

With a minute left in regulation, the Badgers blew an 8-point lead and the Hawkeyes managed to send the game to overtime.

However, the Badgers recovered and were able to hold on for yet another overtime victory.

The team pushed ahead to a quick 2-0 start in Big Ten play and the Badgers were immediately voted into the AP Poll directly after this game at number 22.

The Badgers ended up reaching as high as 14th in the poll later in the season.

Essegian scores 23 in home win vs Michigan

Has this turned into the biggest rivalry game on the schedule for the Badgers?

It definitely could be.

Following Hunter Dickinson’s “scumbag” comment made earlier in the season, he decided to enter the Kohl Center wearing a black ski mask, intending to “steal” a game from the Badgers.

Yet, Connor Essegian did not intend to let this happen.

Essegian went off for 23 points in his highest-scoring game of the season thus far, leading the Badgers to a massive 64-59 win over the Michigan Wolverines.

On national television, Essegian chose the perfect game to fully establish himself as one of the best freshman guards in the country.

It was a chippy game where the Badgers only shot 33.3% from the field, but a strong defensive performance was enough to propel the team to a much-needed victory.

Luckily, the postgame handshake went smoothly between the coaching staff this time.

Although the season didn’t quite end where everyone had hoped, there were still many memorable moments that players, fans, and families will be able to look back on and cherish for years to come.

Cheers to a good offseason, and who knows, maybe the Badgers could sneak into the field of 68 on Sunday.