NCAA

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Ethan Happ had 20 points and 11 rebounds and Wisconsin held off Penn State for a 66-60 win on Thursday night.Nigel Hayes added 15 points for the Badgers who won their second straight Big Ten game.

MADISON — Ethan Happ scored underneath the basket with 10 seconds left and Wisconsin beat No. 4 Michigan State 77-76 on Sunday, January 17th.The Spartans had a final chance to win but Denzel Valentine missed a 3-pointer and Matt Costello's last-second side jumper bounced off the rim.Bronson Koenig scored 27 points and Nigel Hayes added 25 for the Badgers (10-9, 2-4 Big Ten), who trailed 76-72 after Valentine hit a runner for the Spartans (16-3, 3-3).

EVANSTON, Illinois — Bryant McIntosh scored 28 points to lead Northwestern to a rare win over Wisconsin, 70-65, on Tuesday night.McIntosh scored all but eight of his points in the second half as the Wildcats (15-3, 3-2 Big Ten) beat the Badgers (9-9, 1-4) for just the third time in 17 games.Northwestern went on run midway through the second half to grab a seven-point lead and hung on for its second straight win after back-to-back losses to Maryland and Ohio State.McIntosh, the lone Wildcat to score in double figures, did a little bit of everything with four rebounds and five assists.Nigel Hayes had 17 points, six rebounds and six assists.

MADISON — Melo Trimble hit a long 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left to lift No. 3 Maryland to a 63-60 win over Wisconsin on SaturdayTrimble finished with 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting in a game in which the Terrapins (15-1, 4-0 Big Ten) lost an eight-point lead with about 7 minutes to go.Trimble saved his biggest shot for the end.

BLOOMINGTON, Indiana — Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell scored 19 points and O.G. Anunoby added 11 to lead Indiana past Wisconsin 59-58 on Tuesday, January 5th.The Hoosiers (13-3, 3-0 Big Ten) have won eight straight, beating the Badgers for only the second time since 2007.Wisconsin (9-7, 1-2) was led by Bronson Koenig and Nigel Hayes who scored 15 points on a night full of offensive struggles.

SAN DIEGO — Rafael Gaglianone kicked a 29-yard field goal with 2:27 left to lift No. 23 Wisconsin to a 23-21 victory against Southern California in the Holiday Bowl on Wednesday night, December 30th.Gaglianone's third field goal gave Wisconsin (10-3) its first win in seven tries against USC (8-6).

MADISON — A.J. Hammons scored 24 points, Dakota Mathias hit two 3s in the final 1:19 and No. 14 Purdue held on for a 61-55 victory over Wisconsin on Tuesday night, December 29th.The Boilermakers (13-1, 1-0 Big Ten) snapped a four-game losing streak to the Badgers (8-6, 0-1), who lost their first conference game under interim coach Greg Gard.But Purdue needed the two late 3s by Mathias after Wisconsin had narrowed an 11-point deficit to 52-49 with 1:40 left on a short jumper by Alex Illikainen.Purdue opened its 11-point lead gradually behind the 7-foot Hammons.

MADISON — Nigel Hayes scored seven of his team-high 24 points in a 17-0 first-half run and five more in the final minutes as Wisconsin held off Wisconsin-Green Bay 84-79 Wednesday night, giving Greg Gard a nerve-wracking win in his first game as the Badgers' interim coach.Gard spent 23 years as an assistant to Bo Ryan, including the past 15 at Wisconsin, before being named interim coach when Ryan abruptly announced his retirement immediately after the Badgers' victory over Texas A&M Corpus Christi Dec. 15.It looked like Wisconsin (8-5) would cruise in Gard's debut, as the Badgers led by 21 at halftime and were up 30 at 68-38 after two free throws by Hayes with 13:01 to play.

MADISON — Ethan Happ and Bronson Koenig scored 15 points apiece as Wisconsin beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 64-49 on Tuesday, December 15th.Vitto Brown added 12 points and 16 rebounds for the Badgers.Rashawn Thomas was limited by foul trouble, but scored 12 points for the Islanders, as did Hameed Ali.Neither team got off to a hot start — Wisconsin (7-5) missed its first 10 shots and the Islanders (7-3) started 1 of 8.But Wisconsin eventually found its shooting touch and put the game away with a second-half run.Up 35-30, Happ grabbed a missed free throw and put it back before Wisconsin hit six straight free throws after starting 8 of 17 from the line.

MADISON — Part of the University of Wisconsin-Madison band will be left behind when members make the trip to San Diego in a few weeks for the Holiday Bowl.All freshmen in the band won't be going on the bowl trip for the first time because of budgetary concerns.WISC-TV reports band director Mike Leckrone says he was told by the university that he could send about 200 members on the trip — so about 85 students and a handful of staff won't be going.Leckrone says it's a "major disappointment" because of the work the students have put in throughout the year.He says even if $100,000 could somehow be raised, it would be a "logistical nightmare" to get additional flights and hotel rooms.