STAT PACK: No.23 Wisconsin Powers Past Iowa
MADISON, Wis. – There was no slowing down for sophomore Johnny Davis and Wisconsin basketball, two entities that are starting to see pieces click together.
Fresh off his career-high 37 points in Monday’s upset at No.3 Purdue, Davis delivered 26 more in front of 18 NBA scouts, including 17 in the first half to help the 23rd-ranked Badgers to an 87-78 victory over Iowa at the Kohl Center Thursday.
It was a balanced effort with five players in double figures for Wisconsin (11-2, 2-1), which broke a four-game losing streak in the series by putting up its highest point total against the Hawkeyes since March 1994.
We take a closer look at the game in the BadgerBlitz StatPack.
- In addition to hitting the 20-point mark for the sixth straight game, Davis added nine rebounds and five assists as UW led for nearly 38 minutes.
- Brad Davison scored 11 of his 18 points in the second half while adding seven rebounds. Forwards Tyler Wahl (16 pts, 9 rbds) and Steven Crowl (12) reached double digits for the first time in Big Ten play this season, while Chucky Hepburn (11) rounded out the 10+ scorers.
- Other scorers for Wisconsin include Jahcobi Neath (2) and Carter Gilmore (2).
- The Badgers shot 50 percent for each half, narrowly edging the Hawkeyes in the field goal department (49.2)
- UW scored a season-high 40 points in the paint, outrebounding Iowa 43-26. Those numbers helped UW thrive despite going just 5-for-17 from 3-point range and 16-for-23 from the foul line.
- Iowa (11-4, 1-3) was led by Keegan Murray’s 27 points. The nation’s leading scorer was 10-for-16 from the floor, but the Hawkeyes were outscored by 17 points with him on the floor – a combination of him playing a team-high 35 minutes and inconsistency from virtually everyone else.
- With a buzz in the air for an early conference showdown, both teams got off to hot shooting starts. Wisconsin started 6-for-8 from the field with scoring from four different players, while Iowa started 5-for-7.
- The Badgers had a size advantage but that wasn’t generating success in the paint early. Iowa scored 14 of its first 17 points in the lane and held a 7-4 edge on the glass. The Hawks scored paint buckets off both their offensive rebounds, including Murray out maneuvering three defenders for a rebound.
- The second media timeout was evidently well placed. UW came out more aggressive defensively and was rewarded by holding Iowa to 1-for-9 and sprinting on an 11-0 run over 3:30, giving them a 31-19 lead.
- After holding Iowa to no points in the paint for nearly six minutes, the Hawkeyes scored four straight buckets inside on an 8-0 run that cut the lead to five. Almost on cue, UW scored six straight in the lane to rebuild the double-digit lead.
- UW got a big call in its favor with eight seconds left in the half when Davison was contacted shooting a 3-pointer. Iowa’s argument – which had some validity – was that Davison drew the foul by sticking out his right leg. Davison hit all three free throws to give UW a 45-32 at halftime lead.
- Scoring 20 points in the lane in the first 20 minutes, Wisconsin scored half as many in the first 3:48 of the second half. In six possessions, the Badgers scored 12 points with 10 being dubbed “paint points” to build a 57-38 lead.
- With Davison hitting his step-back jumper with 14:30 remaining, the Badgers had four players reach double figures.
- Missing his first three second-half shots, Davis enjoyed a prolonged rest before the under-12 timeout and the sophomore checked back in fresh. He delivered a pull-up jumper on his second possession back in and after a Wahl steal, delivered the alley-oop slam off a perfect fed from Neath to put UW up 65-48.
- UW led by as many as 23 points with 7:08 remaining, allowing Wisconsin to start pulling its starters down the stretch.
- Wisconsin has another quick turnaround when the Badgers travel to College Park to take on Maryland Sunday night. The tipoff from the Xfinity Center is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
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