Badgers pull away for win over Hawkeyes
The Hawkeyes got off to a strong start and challenged nationally ranked Wisconsin on their home floor, but the Badgers scored 51 points in the second twenty minutes of action to pull away for an 83-72 victory on Tuesday night.
Iowa falls to 8-6 on the season and of more importance, 0-3 in conference play. Tony Perkins led Iowa with 25 points, including 18 in the second half. The Badgers are now 10-3 and 2-0 in conference play. Wisconsin had four players in double figured, led by Tyler Wahl with 19 points and 8 rebounds. Steven Crowl posted a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
It was a good start for Iowa at the Kohl Center. Wisconsin hadn’t played a game since December 22nd and the Hawkeyes built an early lead thanks to creating turnovers and solid shooting. Back to back triples from Ben Krikke and Payton Sandfort pushed the Hawkeyes out to an 11-4 lead with 16:19 left in the first half.
Another Sandfort three gave Iowa a six point edge, 16-10, with 12:53 left in the first half. He finished the game with nine points, all on three point field goals made in the first half. The Badgers then scored the next six points, culminating on a slam by Crowl to knot the game at 16. That six point run was fueled by a pair of turnovers from the Hawkeyes during a sloppy stretch of basketball.
Wisconsin took their first lead of the game, 19-18 after a bucket by Crowl and the rest of the half, it was a back and forth battle. With 3:35 left in the half, Iowa went on a 7-0 run, capped by a three pointer from Perkins to go up 32-26 with 2:07 left in the half. But, the Badgers closed the first twenty minutes strong, scoring the final six of the half to tie the game at 32 at the break.
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Perkins came out firing in the second half, drilling a three to get the scoring started for what turned out to be a high scoring half. Crowl drilled a triple and the two teams continued to trade buckets up and down the court before the first media timeout where the scored was tied at 44 points each.
That proved to be the final time that Iowa was tied for the lead. Wisconsin methodically pulled away, The Badgers went on an 8-0 run starting at the 11:42 mark to go up 61-52. The lead grew to ten after a bucket by Chuckie Hepburn to make it 65-55. Iowa immediately got it as close as six points, but Wisconsin soon moved it back up to double digits and rode that margin to victory.
Iowa shot 43.5% for the game and the Hawkeyes were 7-17 from three point range. The Badgers 58.3% in the second half and 51.9% for the game. Wisconsin won the rebounding battle, 38-32 and outscored Iowa 24-14 in points off turnovers.
The Hawkeyes will be back in action on Saturday seeking to pick up their first Big Ten victory when they host Rutgers. The game time is set for 11:00 a.m. and it will air on the Big Ten Network.
