MADISON, Wis. – The start of Big Ten play was not kind to John Blackwell.

Handling the starting point guard role for the first time in conference play, Blackwell was prone to turnovers, hesitant with his decision making, and unwilling to shoot from the perimeter. As Wisconsin restarted Big Ten play, those issues clearly are in the past.

Wisconsin’s sophomore point guard had full mastery of his position on Friday night, frustrating Iowa with his scoring, tenacity, and ball handling in a 116-85 victory over the Hawkeyes at the Kohl Center.

Blackwell filled the stat sheet with a career-high 32 points to go with eight rebounds and five assists, as the Badgers (11-3, 1-2 Big Ten) avoided becoming the first Wisconsin team to start 0-3 in conference play since 1986-87.

Plenty of Wisconsin players found offense against one of the worst defensive units in the Big Ten.

Nolan Winter continued his sophomore surge with 18 points while Steven Crowl reached double figures for a third straight game with 14 points and seven rebounds. Kamari McGee had 12 off the bench while John Tonje also had 12, including an acrobatic three-point play with 1.2 seconds left to put UW up 54-43 at halftime.

The 44th game Wisconsin has cracked the century mark, UW’s 116 points were the most in Kohl Center history, broke a 51-year record for most points in a conference game, and was four points from the school record of 120 set in 1967.

UW also set a new school record for three-pointers made (21), as the Badgers shot 64.5 percent from the floor.

Drew Thelwell led the four Hawkeyes in double figures with 25, but Iowa (10-4, 1-2) struggled to regain its offensive rhythm after the opening 10 minutes. UW held Iowa below its season average of 10.5 three-pointers (nine) and fast-break points (17.54), resulting in the Hawkeyes shooting percentage dropping from 59.4 percent in the first half to 38.2 percent in the second half.

Both teams delivered plenty of offensive fireworks in the first half, each shooting over 55 percent and above 1.29 points per possession until UW locked in for an eight-minute stretch to gain its separation.

Limiting Iowa's easy paint touches and forcing contested misses from the perimeter, UW orchestrated a 19-2 run sparked by its defense. The Badgers allowed no offensive rebounds and only one low-post shot over the seven possessions, taking advantage of long rebounds off perimeter misses to get out in transition.

Blackwell and Max Klesmit each hit three-pointers on the fast break, while Blackwell used his speed off the dribble to either score at the rim or pass to open shooters. Blackwell scored 15 points in the first half and his three assists led to another eight, six of which came on a three-possessions span during UW’s run.

What it means: The first 10 minutes of the game showed both teams playing optional defense, but Wisconsin built a comfortable working margin once it prevented Iowa from getting easy looks at the rim. If UW can keep improving its defense and continue this explosive offense attack, the Badgers will factor into the Big Ten race.

Star of the game: Blackwell was effective putting the ball on the floor and attacking the rim (3-for-5 in the paint), pulling up for paint jumpers (2-for-3), or drilling shots from the perimeter (6-for-10), the latter numbers both being career highs.

Stat of the game: Wisconsin didn’t waste its interior size advantage, outrebounding Iowa 37-21.

Reason to be Concerned: The Badgers made things too easy for Iowa to score in the first half.

Don’t overlook: Carter Gilmore’s presence on the floor was one of the reasons Wisconsin started to lock in defensively. With Gilmore delivering stout defense in the low post and on the perimeter, Iowa was 11-for-21 (52.4 percent) with Gilmore on the floor and 8-for-11 (72.7) when he wasn’t in the first half. The senior added a three-pointer in each half as a bonus.

What’s next: Wisconsin has its first of four January games on the coast when it travels to New Jersey to face Rutgers on Monday night. The Scarlet Knights (8-6, 1-2) have had a bumpy start to the season but have two of the conference’s premier freshmen in Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey. Harper averages 22.8 points per game and delivered the program’s first triple-double in over 40 years on Monday. He was out sick for Thursday’s loss at Indiana, but Bailey delivered a career-high 39 points on 16-of-29 shooting with eight rebounds and four blocks.

Rutgers has won three of the last five meetings against UW. The tip off from Piscataway is at 6 p.m. CT with television coverage by FS1.

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