Former Wisconsin star continues torrid stretch in Louisville big win over North Carolina

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Former Wisconsin guard Chucky Hepburn had a terrific outing in Louisville’s 83-70 win over North Carolina on Wednesday.

The veteran point guard tallied a game-high 26 points, seven assists and two rebounds on five-for-eight shooting and 16-for-20 from the free-throw line. That performance led the Cardinals to their ninth win of the season, this over a high-profile conference opponent.

Related: Updated game-by-game predictions for Wisconsin basketball entering 2025 Big Ten schedule

Hepburn excelled with the game in the balance. Louisville led just 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 on five more, single-handedly deciding the contest.

The performance continues Hepburn’s stellar stretch dating back to the start of December. During those seven games, he’s averaging 17.2 points, 6.1 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals on 42% shooting. This has brought his season-long averages up to 15.9 points, 5.4 assists, and 3.4 rebounds on 47.4% shooting — all numbers that would set career highs.

Hepburn is excelling at Louisville while fellow transfer A.J. Storr is struggling 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’s averaging just 7.3 points and 1.9 rebounds on 39.8% shooting. Those tallies have dipped 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 of note. Wisconsin’s three-game losing streak to Michigan, No. 22 Illinois and No. 8 Marquette made it hard to argue against Hepburn being missed. His breakout as one of the best point guards in the country enforces that reality.

The Badgers have gotten strong play from starting guard John Blackwell (14.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists on 48% shooting) to start the season as senior Max Klesmit (11.2 points, 1.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists on 32%…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/former-wisconsin-star-continues-torrid-140152215.html

Author : Badgers Wire

Publish date : 2025-01-02 14:01:00

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