STAT PACK: Wisconsin Can't Overcome Slow Start in 77-62 Loss to No.11 Iowa

MADISON, Wis. – For all the inconsistencies the University of Wisconsin has dealt with over the past two months, the one thing the Badgers had going for them is their unwillingness to let one loss compound into two. UW’s poor offensive has ended that badge of honor, too.

Starting another game ice cold offensively, No.21 Wisconsin spent most of the game playing catch up and couldn’t quite get over the hump in a 77-62 defeat to No.11 Iowa Thursday at the Kohl Center.

The loss gives the Badgers (15-8, 9-7 Big Ten) back-to-back losses for the first time since January 2020. Ironically, that second-straight loss also came against the Hawkeyes (16-6, 10-5), as the visitors managed to stave off a second-half surge en route to their third straight win.

We take a closer look at the game in the BadgerBlitz Stat Pack.

- Senior Micah Potter led Wisconsin with 23 points and 11 rebounds (his fourth double-double of the season), as the Badgers also got double-figure scoring from Brad Davison (15) and D’Mitrik Trice (11, 3-for-15).

- Davison went 5-for-8 from the 3-point line, a season-high makes and the most points he had scored since Dec.22.

- UW finished 21-for-70 (30 percent) and took 19 more shots than Iowa. The Badgers grabbed 17 offensive rebounds and scored only four second-chance points.

- Iowa senior Luka Garza was efficient with 30 points on 11-for-19 shooting, going 4-for-6 from 3-point range, 4-for-5 from the free throw line and eight rebounds. The Hawkeyes added 17 points and eight rebounds from Joe Wieskamp (5-for-6 from 3-point range) and 12 rebounds from Keegan Murray, as Iowa shot 51 percent from the floor and 63.2 percent (12-for-19) from 3-point range.

- Wisconsin played without senior guard Trevor Anderson, who was ruled out with an upper-body injury, shortening the Badgers’ eight-man rotation. In Anderson’s place, Jonathan Davis played 33 minutes but finished with more fouls (five) than points (three).

- Davison’s 3-pointer gave Wisconsin the opening basket, but Iowa went on a 14-0 run with a combination of Garza and actions off him. Garza had six points in the run (four against Nate Reuvers in one-on-one coverage on the low blocks), and UW missed seven straight shots to start 1-for-9.

- UW started 3-for-22 from the floor but the problem wasn’t the 3-point shot. The Badgers were 1-for-15 on two-point shots, which included the offense going 1-for-6 on layups and missing multiple uncontested ones.

- The Badgers managed to keep the deficit around the 10-point mark for the latter part of the first half because UW didn’t foul and didn’t turn the ball over. Still, when Potter started hitting some shots to try to jump the offense, Garza would come up with a bigger shot on the other end, including sandwiching two 3-pointers around a Potter 3-pointer.

- UW trailed by as 13 points but managed to close the gap to six with 37 seconds left off a 9-2 run. Potter had four of his 11 points on the run and Davis – after starting 0-for-7 from the floor – hit a 3-pointer from the corner.

- C.J. Fredrick hit a 3-pointer with five seconds left to give Iowa a 36-27 lead at halftime, but the Badgers were fortunate to be down only single digits. Iowa shot 51.7 percent in the first half (15-for-29), UW countered at just 25.0 percent (9-for-36) and were outscored 16-6 in the paint. The difference was the Badgers didn’t commit a turnover, didn’t put Iowa on the free throw line and had an 8-3 edge in offensive rebounds.

- The game quickly started to spiral for the Badgers, who turned the ball over on two of their first three possessions in the second half and missed a pair of free throws. On the other side, Iowa pounced with a 7-0 run to take its biggest lead at 43-27 by making both field goal attempts and hitting both free throws.

- Sensing things could start to snowball, Wisconsin made its charge with a 12-1 run to cut the lead to 44-39. A couple cold shooters - Aleem Ford (2) and Davison (1) - each found some rhythm from 3-point range, with Ford assisting on Davison’s basket. Trice also added two assists in the run.

- Iowa took advantage of a pair of offensive rebounds to score five second-chance points, but the Badgers kept inching back. After Davis lost the ball on a fast break, UW’s ball movement around the perimeter led to Davison hitting an open 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 49-46 – the closest the Badgers had been since the first three minutes of the game.

- Davison’s 3-pointer started a stretch of each team scoring three points on six of seven possessions. While Garza (3-point play), Jack Nunge (banked-in three) and Wieskamp (3-pointer) did the damage, Davison hit all three 3-pointers for UW.

- UW had a chance to cut the lead back to three coming out of a media timeout, but a bad pass by Trice led to Wieskamp hitting a 3-pointer off a screen to push the lead to nine with 6:23 to go. That play sparked a 10-2 run that put Iowa up 68-54 with 3:44 to play.

- In a sequence that could define UW’s Big Ten season, the Badgers stopped hitting the open shots that they were draining to bring them back into the game. Wisconsin missed seven straight 3-pointers, including five on one possession (two by Tyler Wahl, two by Trice) that prevented them from regaining momentum.

- Iowa closed the game making eight of its final nine shots, while Wisconsin made just two of its final 13.

- Wisconsin has a quick turnaround for its Sunday road game at Northwestern. Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.