Wisconsin basketball head coach Greg Gard gets real about the Badgers following an upset loss at the hands of the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Wisconsin basketball (23-7, 13-6 Big Ten) secured a much-needed 74-67 win over Minnesota (15-15, 7-12 Big Ten) on Wednesday at Williams Arena.

Star wing John Tonje also dropped 18 points and seven boards in 27 minutes of action for Greg Gard's team, while Steven Crowl finished with 10 points and three rebounds. Wisconsin's 21-of-24 mark from the charity stripe also enabled the team to overcome a poor 22.7% clip from beyond the arc.

Based on Gard's tone, Klesmit's status doesn't seem serious. The guard suffered a right ankle injury back on Jan. 6 against Rutgers, which prompted him to miss Wisconsin's Jan. 10 game against Minnesota. He then returned to the lineup, although he appears to still be battling the aftermath of that injury.

Nolan Winter, a sophomore from Lakeville, Minnesota, averages 9.9 points and a team-high 6.1 rebounds per game for the Badgers.

The veteran will miss his third game of the season, including his second straight contest. He also missed the Badgers' first meeting with Minnesota.

The redshirt freshman helped jolt the Badgers' bench to secure a key road victory as Wisconsin finally closed out a close one.

In his 10th season at the helm, the Badgers coach led his team to a surprise run at a Big Ten regular-season title while overseeing a variety of changes.

John Blackwell scored 25 points and John Tonje added 18 as the Wisconsin Badgers persevered down the stretch to hold off host Minnesota.

Even in this age when everyone shoots three-pointers, there aren’t many big men who hit them as efficiently as the Minnesota native ... Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. “He understands how ...