MINNEAPOLIS – You want to know how difficult life on the road in the Big Ten can be?
Wisconsin, alone in first place in the league and No. 10 in the USA Today coaches poll, built a 15-point lead over rival Minnesota in the first half, led by 10 at halftime and led by eight points with a little more than seven minutes remaining.
Yet the Gophers, who entered the night under the .500 mark in league play, refused to surrender and eventually battled back to take a one-point lead in the final minute.
The Badgers then showed their championship mettle as AJ Storr and Tyler Wahl each hit two free throws and UW got one final stop thanks to a block by Wahl to escape with a 61-59 victory Tuesday night at Williams Arena.
“To be able to give up a lead on the road, claw back, withstand the full-throated (fans) of this place and find a way to win,” UW coach Greg Gard said, “you have to be able to win games when maybe you’re not at your best as you get through a season, just because the season is too long.