Former Wisconsin guard Chucky Hepburn had a great outing in Louisville’s 83-70 victory. North Carolina Wednesday.
The veteran point guard had a game-high 26 points, seven assists and two rebounds on five-of-eight shooting and 16-of-20 from the free-throw line. The performance led the Cardinals to their ninth victory of the season, against a top conference opponent.
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Hepburn excelled at balancing act. Louisville led only 70-69 with three minutes remaining. The former Badger star then led the team on a 12-0 run by scoring seven points and assisting five others, single-handedly deciding the game.
The performance continues Hepburn’s stellar streak dating back to early December. In those seven games, he averaged 17.2 points, 6.1 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals on 42% shooting. That brought his season averages to 15.9 points, 5.4 assists and 3.4 rebounds on 47.4 percent shooting – all numbers that would set career highs.
Hepburn excelled at Louisville while fellow transfer AJ Storr struggled to find his footing at Kansas. While Hepburn is on pace to set career highs in every statistical category, Storr is posting career lows across the board. He averages only 7.3 points and 1.9 rebounds with 39.8% shooting success. Those numbers dropped after he totaled just 13 points and 10 rebounds over the last four games.
The play of Wisconsin’s two-star transfers continues to be outstanding. Wisconsin’s three-game losing streak against MichiganNo. 22 Illinois and No. 8 Marquette made it difficult to argue against Hepburn’s demise. His emergence as one of the best point guards in the country reinforces that reality.
The Badgers benefited from strong play from starting guard John Blackwell (14.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists on 48% shooting) to start the season while senior Max Klesmit (11.2 points, 1.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists on 32% shooting) struggled to find his shooting stroke. The Badgers’ biggest weakness lies on the glass and on the court – the team currently ranks 126th in rebounding rate (51.4%). Hepburn would have given a significant boost to the former, but not necessarily to the latter.
Wisconsin returns to court on January 3 against Iowa. The team’s backcourt play will continue to be closely monitored as Hepburn continues to dominate.
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