Max Klesmit aggravates groin during Big Ten Tournament final, playing through injury
Wisconsin guard Max Klesmit was seen on the sidelines in the second half of the Badgers’ back and forth Big Ten Tournament final matchup against Illinois on Sunday. Riding a stationary bike as he appeared to be working through a potential injury.
During the broadcast, CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson provided an update on Klesmit’s status, revealing that he aggravated an injury that he previously suffered earlier in the season.
“Just an update on Max Klesmit,” Wolfson said. “He has been dealing with a groin injury over the last few weeks, it looks like he re-injured it a bit there. He refused to go into the back, they gave him some pain medicine. Right now he’s in the bike trying to work through it.”
Klesmit has started all 35 games of the season for the Badgers, and it’s clear that his nagging injury won’t take him off the court in Wisconsin’s biggest game of the season.
He averaged 9.5 points and 2.0 rebounds per game this season for Wisconsin, coming off of two straight games scoring in double figures during the conference tournament after scoring 12 points, five rebounds, and five assists against Purdue in the semifinals and 10 points with a career-high seven assists in the quarterfinal round versus Northwestern.
Klesmit has checked into the game since Wolfson’s report. Hitting two three-pointers including a go-ahead one with 3:55 remaining in regulation to give Wisconsin a 82-81 lead. Representing the 13th point of the game for him.
He’s been a big addition to the Badgers’ team since he joined through the NCAA transfer portal ahead of the 2022-2023 season after spending the first two seasons of his career at Wofford. Starting in 67 games for Wisconsin ahead of the Big Ten Tournament Championships.
Wisconsin falls short in Big Ten title game
Klesmit showed a heroic effort in Sunday’s conference title game after re-injuring his groin, ending the game with 16 points. 11 of which came in the second half and included three clutch three-point shots during the last seven minutes of the game.
But unfortunately, it was not enough to bring the Badgers a win, as they fell to Illinois 93-87 in a game that featured 13 lead changes.
Fighting Illini guard Terrence Shannon Jr. continued his reign of absolute dominance in the Big Ten Tournament, scoring 34 points against Wisconsin on Sunday after scoring 40 points versus Nebraska in the semifinal round and 28 against Ohio State in the quarterfinals.
Illinois earned themselves a No. 3 seed in the East region of the NCAA Tournament with an automatic bid and Wisconsin a No. 5 seed in the South region with an at-large bid.