MINNEAPOLIS – You want grit, toughness, and poise?

Wisconsin’s players displayed each of those traits and more in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament on Friday.

UW took the court without point guard Chucky Hepburn (knee). His replacement, freshman John Blackwell, suffered an ankle injury early in the game and was clearly hobbled. Tyler Wahl was also limited after banging knees with another player.

Yet after falling into an early 11-point hole, the Badgers battled back behind the play of AJ Storr, Steven Crowl, Max Klesmit and others for a 70-61 victory against Northwestern at the Target Center.

One day after lighting up Maryland from three-point range in a 31-point victory, the Badgers had to grind back from a double-digit deficit 8 minutes 3 seconds into the game.

BOX SCORE: Wisconsin 70, Northwestern 61

"Obviously, completely different type of game than yesterday in terms of we had to really gut it out, dig in defensively after not a great start," UW coach Greg Gard said. "But I thought these two guys (Storr and Crowl) and the guys in the locker room did a phenomenal job of buckling down and really turning the screws defensively, and they were able to make shots.

"Just across the board, between foul trouble and guys a little banged up here or there, a terrific team effort. I mean, everybody gave us quality minutes. Just excited to be able to keep on playing."

Storr hit 3 of 5 three-pointers, 10 of 16 shots overall and 7 of 8 free throws and finished with 30 points and six rebounds.

He tied UW's Big Ten Tournament record for points in a game, set by Rob Wilson against Indiana in 2012.

"Chucky told us before the game he wasn't playing," Storr said, "so that kind of motivated us all to play harder."

Crowl was limited to six shots and six points in UW's 71-63 regular-season victory over the Wildcats. He was more aggressive Friday and finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists. He hit 3 of 5 three-pointers and 8 of 12 shots overall.

Klesmit hit just 3 of 11 shots but finished with 10 points and seven of UW’s 15 assists.

The Badgers (21-12) advanced to the tournament semifinals for the first time since the 2018-19 season.

UW is set to face top-seeded Purdue (29-3) at noon Saturday. The Boilermakers got 29 points and 12 rebounds from Zach Edey in a 67-62 victory over Michigan State in the opening game Friday.

The Badgers went 0-2 against Purdue during the regular season, losing by six in Madison and by eight in West Lafayette.

Northwestern (21-11) is projected to receive an at-large berth in the NCAA field, perhaps as high as a No. 8 seeding.

One day after shooting a sizzling 64.0% from three-point range (16 of 25) and 51.7% overall (31 of 60), the Badgers hit 10 of 22 three-pointers (45.5%) and 24 of 52 shots overall (46.2%).

The Badgers hit 6 of 11 three-pointers and 13 of 23 shots overall after rallying for a 33-29 halftime lead.

Blackwell entered the day shooting 58.8% from three-point range and 55.8% overall in his five previous games.

He missed all six of his shots in the opening half Friday, including 2 three-pointers. The only shot he hit was huge -- a three-pointer with 2:10 left to give UW a 70-59 lead.

"I thought that was the dagger," Blackwell said.

Hepburn had started 32 games for UW and is averaging 8.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. He leads the team in assists (124) and steals (66).

With Hepburn watching from the bench, Kamari McGee played a season-high 23 minutes. He contributed four points, three rebounds, one assist and a huge block on a Northwestern fast break with UW up by 63-56 with 4:49 remaining.

"Kam, it's another example of somebody stepping up and really helping," Gard said. "That play was huge. I'll have to watch that when I get back to the hotel."

The Wildcats were again without guard Ty Berry (torn meniscus) and center Matthew Nicholson (foot).

But guard Boo Buie (18.9 ppg, 43.1% three-point shooting) carried the Wildcats in the opening half by hitting 4 of 6 three-pointers en route to 16 points. He finished 7 of 11 from beyond the arc, with 29 points.

Brooks Barnhizer (14.6 ppg), contributed 13 points and 14 rebounds but hit just 3 of 15 shots. Ryan Langborg (12.4 ppg) fouled out with 5:30 left, with just five points.

The Badgers moved on because they flourished in two key stretches, one in the first half and one in the second.

The Badgers faced a 23-12 deficit when Crowl scored inside to start a 14-0 run that ended with two free throws from Markus Ilver and a 26-23 lead with 6:46 left in the half.

Crowl had five points, Klesmit three, Storr two, McGee two and Ilver two in the run which eventually led to the 33-29 halftime lead as the Wildcats missed 13 of their final 15 shots.

UW held a 63-56 lead when Barnhizer rebounded a missed three-pointer by Klesmit and took off down the right side.

Barnhizer got past Klesmit and put up the shot from the right side of the lane but McGee came over from the opposite side and rose up to deflect the shot. Klesmit grabbed the rebound and McGee found Storr for a basket and a 65-56 lead with 4:31 left.

After a three-pointer by Buie, Klesmit hit Crowl for a dunk and a 67-59 lead with 3:55 left. Blackwell's three-pointer gave UW the 11-point lead and the game.

The Badgers prevailed without their veteran point guard and with two other key players limited because of injuries.

"It's March," Gard joked. "If you don't have something that hurts, you haven't played hard enough. So guys continue to fight through the things that are going on and other guys continue to step up."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: John Blackwell starts for Wisconsin vs. Northwestern