Wisconsin men’s basketball: Brad Davison and Chucky Hepburn win Big Ten awards

The backcourt duo was on fire last week in wins over Georgia Tech and Marquette.

Following two impressive wins last week (at Georgia Tech, vs. Marquette), Brad Davison and Chucky Hepburn received weekly Big Ten awards on Monday afternoon. Davison was named Co-Player of the Week and Hepburn brought home his first Co-Freshman of the Week award.

Somehow, someway, even though he’s been a Badger since the Great Depression, this is the FIRST Big Ten Player of the Week award of super-senior Brad Davison’s career. In Wisconsin’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge matchup versus Georgia Tech, Davison scored 27 points and shot 5-of-7 from behind the arc.

When Davison gets hot, he’s one of the best players in the conference, and that was never more evident than in the second half of the Georgia Tech game. Davison scored nine straight points for the Badgers, stretching what was a 44-41 lead to an eight point lead, 53-45. In UW’s home win over Marquette, Davison reached the 20 point mark for the second consecutive game and added four rebounds and three assists as well.

On the week, Davison averaged 23.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists, well deserving of Co-Player of the Week honors, which he shared with Minnesota guard Payton Willis.

Freshman guard Chucky Hepburn had a fantastic week as well, capped by a breakout game in UW’s 89-76 win over Marquette, earning him Co-Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors. Hepburn reached double figures for the first time in his career on Saturday, scoring 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting. The young point guard did more than just put the ball in the hoop against the Golden Eagles, filling up the stat sheet with six assists, two rebounds and three steals.

This is the first Big Ten Freshman of the Week Award for Hepburn and Wisconsin’s first Freshman of the Week since Davison won the award in February 2018. Hepburn shares this week’s award with Michigan State guard Max Christie.