ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Needing a resume-building win to perhaps get off the bubble, Wisconsin (16-12, 8-10) was denied by some late heroics from Michigan (17-12, 11-7) on Sunday.

The Badgers led 68-65 with 2.1 seconds remaining in regulation, but Wolverines' center  Hunter Dickinson  hit a prayer 3-pointer put the game in the extra session. UW again led, 75-73 with 2:44 remaining in overtime, but was outscored 14-4 the rest of the way.

UW was denied back-to-back wins for the first time since Jan. 3. More importantly, the Badgers saw a quad 1 victory slip right through their fingers as they continue to sit on the bubble with just two games remaining left in the regular season.

Here's a closer look at Sunday's loss...

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It's not a hindsight decision. I said in the game thread. Wisconsin needed to foul before the ball was inbounded or immediately after Michigan came into possession with a three-point lead and 2.1 seconds remaining.

Obviously, if Hunter Dickinson doesn't make a relatively lucky shot, we're not even talking about this, but in a game this magnitude where the lead has been hard to hold for both teams, why risk it?

To play devil's advocate, there's some obvious risk committing an intentional foul on the road in front of the home team's bench. If you do it wrong before the ball is inbounded, there's a chance, very slim, but still a chance an official hits you with an intentional foul.

Even still, that's two free throws and the ball for the Wolverines. You're still ahead.

"Not in that situation, no, because it was going to be catch-shot," Gard told reporters when asked if he wanted his team to foul. "You're risking -- or you foul on the floor. We made a play on the ball we shouldn't have made."

Now, Gard also said the Badgers tried to foul with seven second remaining as UM brought the ball up the floor prior to a block from junior guard Max Klesmit, which put the ball in the right corner. Personally, didn't see much of an attempt live. Watching the replay closer, you do see Kamari McGee trying to get one. Regardless, it's not that hard to stick your arm there and give the official no choice. The Wolverines weren't all that impeded from getting up the floor and officials let the teams play on.

Prior to the final shot of regulation, Gard did instruct his team to stay between the ball and the basketball. Essentially, don't take any risks.

That's not what they did.

Junior guard Jordan Davis (6-4) tried to battle with the 7-foot-1 Dickinson for a jump ball -- a battle he lost. Dickinson tipped the ball to himself and Davis went out of position, giving the junior center a clean look...even if it was from 28 feet, it was enough to get Dickinson in rhythm.

"Stay between him and the rim," Gard said when asked what he wanted on the final possession. "That's the only way he gets an open look at the '3' if we don't come up with it and take a chance on it."

How much you want to let Gard off the hook is up to you. If Davis, who was inserted for freshman guard Connor Essegian on the final possession, doesn't gamble, the Badgers probably win.

However, in a game of this magnitude, one that's been this back and forth the last 10 minutes, a contest you almost needed to have, why risk it? UW had rebounded really well all day. It's four against two, with your hogs -- Steven Crowl and Tyler Wahl -- getting the advantage inside.

The other part of this equation too not being talked about enough -- UW had two games where not fouling up three nearly backfired earlier this season. The first came in December when Patrick McCaffery hit the back of the rim in overtime and the Badgers escaped 78-75. The next came as Penn State got sharpshooter Andrew Funk a clean look at the buzzer in regulation, and like McCaffey, also drew back iron as the Nittany Lions fell 63-60 in Madison.

With 15:42 left in the second half, Chucky Hepburn appeared to bang knees with Michigan's Dug McDaniel, who proceeded to hit a long two-pointer after the sophomore guard labored. The Wolverines, who were without second-leading scorer Jett Howard, certainly weren't going to give the Badgers any sympathy points, but Hepburn exited the game on the next trip down the floor and made his way to the locker room.

Unlike the last two times Hepburn was injured -- a NCAA Tournament loss to Iowa State last season and a near blunder on the road at Marquette in December -- UW didn't self-destruct.

In the second half, the Badgers shot 55.2 percent from the floor, including 4-of-8 from beyond the arc in, what was at times, a hostile environment. When Hepburn went out, the Wolverines led 44-37, By the 7:30 mark, the lead was back in UW's possession.

Give McGee a lot of credit for stepping in. He didn't score a lot of points, but hit two big free throws near the end of regulation, and had the offense humming under his guide. He also did a fantastic job on McDaniel, who didn't score the rest of the second half, but did have two buckets in overtime. Prior to McGee entering the game, McDaniel had 12 points.

I know fans don't want to hear it right now, but Sunday was a great sign for this team going forward -- NCAA Tournament bound or not. It took longer than anyone expected, but the depth and consistency have started to arrive over the last few games now. 

"You just watch this group, and it's been a painful growth at times, but how we've continued to grow," said Gard. "Now, we've gotta become more consistent in some areas so we don't get ourselves in a 10, 12-point hole.

"They're very perseverant. They've not flinched at all. The parity and the margin for error, we know is small. But how we battled in the second half and how we were much more physical, I think those were good signs."

The bracketologists aren't always an accurate representation of what the NCAA Tournament selection committee will do, but it felt like if Wisconsin had won on Sunday, gathering its seventh quad 1 win of the season, that could have momentarily taken them off the bubble.

I'm not going to call Thursday's clash with Purdue a must-win, because a loss against a top 10 opponent doesn't do a lot of damage, but it's one that could not only take the Badgers off the bubble, but put them into the field -- assuming there's no major hiccups between then and selection Sunday, which is not guaranteed with this group.

UW hasn't been able to stop the bleeding since the injury happened to Tyler Wahl in early January. The Badgers haven't won back-to-back games in nearly two months. During that time, they've let a total of five victories now slip through their fingers. Not just close contests, games they were leading late, but failed to close.

Again, it's not a must-win, but if the Badgers can't beat Purdue on Thursday, it's hard to say the Badgers deserve to be on the field when they've been their own worst enemy. There shouldn't be any finger pointing at the bracketologists or selection committee.

"There's been a lot of games that have come right down to the wire," said junior center Steven Crowl. "Last year, was the same thing, but we were winning those games. Little bit different narrative.

"We're kind of running out of time here. We can't really keep saying that. We have to come out here and actually win these games. Time is gonna run out on us."

Sunday has to be a hard pill to swallow. Aside from a stretch late in the first half where they didn't finish around the rim and UM got going offensively, UW played a great road game. I don't think there's any doubt this team is significantly better than it was last month, but they're not being rewarded with consecutive victories. 

We'll see if they can get off the dirt one more time.

You could give this to a lot of guys. Thought Klesmit was fantastic on both ends. Aside from maybe one bad shot and two plays he got caught out of position defensively, the junior guard gave Wisconsin a great game.

Wahl put the Badgers on his back for stretches. UW also turned to him to battle Dickinson in the second half and he, for the most part, did not let UM's star center set up shop anywhere near the rim, which allowed the double teams to excel.

Even thought Crowl was deserving in a lot of ways, finishing with a complete game of 14 points, six rebounds, three assists, and a block in what's generally been a tough matchup for him. Crowl also hit two 3-pointers.

However, I just continue to be amazed by the poise of Connor Essegian, who set the program record for made 3-pointers by a freshman on Sunday. Essegian scored a career-high 24 points against the Wolverines, who were clearly putting in a ton of effort and focus to stop him.

You expect freshmen to shrink in close games, especially during late February and March. Essegian did the opposite on Sunday. 

This is a game Essegian couldn't have had, even a few weeks ago. Essegian went just 1-of-8 from 3-point range, but still set a new personal-best, going 9-of-13 from inside the arc -- and two of those misses were blocked.

With 24 seconds left in regulation, Essegian had the go-ahead floater in the paint. Of UW's final 22 points in regulation, Essegian scored nine of them over the final 9:19.

All day, UM had no answer for Essegian. You can go back on look, a bulk of his misses had nothing to do with the defense. Essegian got his shots all day long. 

1.176: Michigan averaged 1.176 points per possession. 

4: The Badgers tied their season-high with four blocks.

5: Wisconsin has collected at least eight offensive rebounds in their last five games.

7: The Badgers made seven of their first 10 shots from the field.

9: UW used a 9-0 run to take a 17-9 lead in the first half.

9:19: UW reached the bonus with 9:19 left in the second half.

10: The Badgers were +10 on points in the paint (38-28). 

11:00: UM didn't commit a foul until the 11:00 mark of the first half.

11:52: The Badgers didn't attempt their first free throw until the 11:52 mark of the second half.

14: After taking a 75-73 lead in overtime, UW was outscored 14-4 the rest of the way. 

15: UW missed 15 shots at the rim (16-31). 

17: The Wolverines went on a 17-3 run to take a 26-20 lead with 3:51 left in the first half.

18: The Badgers had 18 more shot attempts at the rim than UM. 

20: UM had three players score 20 or more points.

91.7: UW finished 11-of-12 (91.7%) from the foul line, their best mark of the season.

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