IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Wisconsin didn’t rewrite its offensive rebound book like last month when it hosted the Hawkeyes. What the Badgers achieved in the rematch could arguably be labeled more profound.
On an afternoon where the offense was hard to come by, No.21 Wisconsin turned things up defensively to survive with a 74-63 victory over Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, stifling one of the nation’s highest-scoring offenses.
It’s a second straight Quad-1 road win for Wisconsin (19-5, 9-4 Big Ten) and kept the Badgers in the conversation for a Big Ten regular season championship, remaining two games behind league-leading Purdue ahead of next Saturday’s road tilt at Mackey Arena.
The Badgers got a game-high 22 points from senior John Tonje, who scored eight consecutive points 2:28 stretch with free throws off aggressive drives to the rim and a corner three-pointer. That latter shot put the Badgers ahead 65-59 lead with 5:33 remaining.
While Tonje was hitting shots, UW’s defense forced four consecutive empty possessions and kept tightening the screws.
Ranked fifth in the country in scoring 85.5), Iowa (13-10, 4-8) managed only one field goal over the final 7:35 and shot 29.6 percent in the second half.
John Blackwell added 19 points and six rebounds for the Badgers, which survived despite shooting 39.3 percent from the floor.
After turnovers and offensive rebounds caused them to trail by two at halftime, the Badgers had only three second-half turnovers and allowed one second-chance point.
Wisconsin started 4-for-20 from the floor and 2-for-12 from three in the second half, but the defense didn’t let Iowa’s lead grow above four. The Hawkeyes averaged less than 1.1 points per possession and 43 percent shooting for the first 12 minutes of the second half.
UW gained slight separation with an 8-0 run, highlighted by John Blackwell’s three-pointer to put the visitors up 57-51 with 9:15 remaining.
What it means: Wisconsin has found some confidence and resilience on the road, winning consecutive Quad-1 conference road games in games where its offense hasn’t come close to being its efficient self.
Star of the game: Tonje went only 2-for-7 in the second half but scored 14 points by going 9-for-10 from the line.
Stat of the game: Wisconsin was able to pull away in the second half from the free throw line. The Badgers went 14-for-17 from the line, including 12-for-14 in the second half. Iowa went just 7-for-9 for the game.
Reason to be Concerned: Wisconsin wasn’t sharp with its intangibles. The Badgers shot 46.7 percent in the first half but trailed by two because it gave Iowa 11 extra possessions (six turnovers, five offensive rebounds). The Hawkeyes are one of the worst rebounding teams in the country and played without their leading rebounder (Owen Freeman).
Don’t overlook: Not only did Iowa only make one field goal in the final 7:30, the Hawkeyes scored only four total points.
What’s next: Wisconsin gets to use its mini bye week to rest, recover, and prepare for a challenging test next Saturday at No.7 Purdue. The Boilermakers (19-5, 11-2) appear to have recovered from losing Naismith National Player of the Year Zach Edey and advancing to the national title game, leading the conference by a full game and the conference’s highest-rated team in the AP poll, KenPom (No.7), and the NET (No.8).
Point guard Braden Smith has been solid (16.1 pts, 8.8 apg, 2.6 spg), but the jump forward Trey Kaufman-Renn has made (6.4 ppg last year to 18.9 ppg) is a big reason for Purdue’s success. The tip from Mackey Arena will be at noon central and televised on CBS.
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