Badgers’ Home-State Plans Become Celebration for Opposing Wisconsinites

In that moment, Otzelberger said, he began to understand why a team needs to be greater than the sum of its parts, a principle that he carried with him as a young college assistant and as a head coach at South Dakota State, Nevada-Las Vegas and now at Iowa State.

Vander Meulen, 83 years old and the proud owner of a flip phone, sat in Fiserv Forum on Sunday night, just as he did on Friday when he watched the Badgers fend off feisty Colgate and the Cyclones sneak past Louisiana State. He played at Wisconsin and coached Otzelberger, a two-time captain for him — “I’m loyal to both of them,” Vander Meulen said — but he would be watching as a basketball connoisseur.

That surely meant keeping an eye on the point guard matchup, which might have served as a referendum on Wisconsin’s recruiting choices. Gard had obtained a commitment two years ago from Chucky Hepburn, a sturdy freshman with a sharp shot from Omaha, Neb., bypassing Hunter, a slick ballhandler and quick defender who had a tragic upbringing, losing both his parents when he was a teenager.

Hepburn’s importance was underscored by his absence. He severely twisted his ankle with 4 minutes 37 seconds left in the first half and had to be helped from the court with the Badgers ahead, 22-19. He watched the end of the game standing on crutches alongside the Wisconsin bench, his left foot in a protective boot as the Badgers, who were the best in the country protecting the ball, turned it over 17 times.

Hunter, who scored a career-high 23 points, including two late 3-pointers to clinch the win over L.S.U., had an abysmal shooting game. He made 1 of 10 shots and finished with 4 points. But he coordinated the offense, notching six rebounds, five assists and three steals — all of which led the Cyclones.

He also had a point to prove.

“They’re a capable team and have a pretty good freshman point guard,” Hunter said of Wisconsin. “But they didn’t recruit me, so I had to leave my presence and let them know you missed out on something that’s pretty good.”

A short while earlier, Hunter had gathered up a loose ball and flung it into the air as the buzzer sounded, before running over to the congregation of Iowa State fans and doing a little dance near center court — the start of a celebration that, for a couple of Cyclones, was also a happy homecoming.