STAT PACK: Wisconsin Falls Short in 77-73 Loss at No.5 Iowa

In its final two road games in the regular season, the University of Wisconsin delivered a pair of its better-effort games than they’ve put forth in weeks. Unfortunately, the desired results are still eluding them.

No.25 Wisconsin battled back from 12 points down to lead by as many as four in the second half but couldn’t hold off No.5 Iowa down the stretch in a 77-73 loss at Carver-Hawkeye Arena Sunday.

Micah Potter led all scorers with 23 points but the Badgers (16-11, 10-10) end the regular season with a three-game losing streak for the first time since 1999 and were swept by a third Big Ten team for the first time since 1998.

Center Luka Garza had 19 points and 16 rebounds to lead three Iowa players in double figures as the Hawkeyes (20-7, 14-6) wrapped up the No.3 seed in the conference tournament.

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

- Potter went 9-for-12 from the floor and 4-for-6 from 3-point range to tie his season-high. Senior Brad Davison added 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting and Jonathan Davis scored nine of his 11 points in the second half.

- Wisconsin shot 46.7 percent overall, its best shooting mark since February 2. The Badgers shot 53.3 percent in the second half. The Badgers went 9-for-24 from the 3-point line and a perfect 8-for-8 from the foul line.

- Outside Potter and Davison, the rest of UW’s rotation went 14-for-38. D’Mitrik Trice went just 3-for-8 from the floor and scored eight points before fouling out in the final minute.

- Iowa finished at 50.9 percent from the floor and 17-for-21 from the foul line. The Hawkeyes were 6-for-7 from the line in the final 34 seconds.

- For a team that has struggled to start well this season, the Badgers delivered a decent first four minutes to lead 7-6 entering the first media timeout. UW was 3-for-8 from the field, but the baskets were a tough jumper from Nate Reuvers, a nice hesitation dribble drive from Davison and a 3-pointer from Potter as soon as he checked into the game.

- Iowa promptly took control with a 14-2 run to lead 20-9 and force Wisconsin to take a timeout. The problems were twofold for UW – the Badgers missing seven of eight shots and Joe Wieskamp scoring 10 points in the run.

- Wieskamp’s hot start was cooled when he injured his right ankle after stepping on the foot of Tyler Wahl. Needing to be helped off the court with 8:16 remaining, Wieskamp could put little weight on his foot and was taken straight to the locker room. He did not return.

- A 9-1 run around the Wieskamp injury brought Wisconsin’s deficit down to 23-20, but consecutive 3-pointers from Iowa were a gut punch. A sign of how well Iowa’s offense was functioning was the Hawkeyes having 10 assists on its first 13 field goals. As a comparison, UW had only three assists on its first 10 field goals over that same stretch.

- UW went into halftime trailing 35-26, unable to get the deficit closer than seven points after that surge down to one possession. The Badgers top three scorers in the first half (Potter – 10, Davison – 6, Reuvers – 4) were a combined 9-for-15, but the rest of the roster was just 3-for-15 in a 40 percent shooting half.

- Down 42-30, Wisconsin made its move with a 19-6 run to take its first lead since being up 7-6. Davison (6), Potter (5), Trice (5) and Aleem Ford (3) all scored in the run, with UW having assists on six of the seven field goals.

- Even after Iowa responded with a 7-2 run to retake a four-point lead, Wisconsin responded with Davis’s offensive rebound and layup and Trice’s 3-pointer to retake the lead. After missing his three shots in the first half, Trice started the second half 3-for-4 but was in and out of the lineup down the stretch because of foul trouble.

- Even without Trice consistently on the floor, the Badgers didn’t play from behind. UW relied on its defense when its offense slowed, holding Iowa without a field goal for 5 minutes, 24 seconds.

- UW delivered nine points on three possessions, getting a 3-point play from Potter, a 3-pointer from Potter from the top of the key and a corner 3-pointer from Davis. The points were critical because Iowa answered with eight points over that same stretch, including five from Jordan Bohannon.

- Each team traded free throws down the stretch, but a missed Iowa free throw was a turning point. After Connor McCaffery missed his second free throw attempt, Keegan Murray outworked Ford for the offensive rebound with 44.8 seconds left. On the second-chance possession, Trice fouled Bohannon – an 87.2 percent free throw shooter – on a 3-pointer.

- Greg Gard got as hot as he’s been all season when a double foul was called on Davison and Iowa’s Murray. Murray fouled Davison as he cut to the basket, but Davison was called for a hook-and-hold before the ball arrived.

- Both players made their free throws, but UW got the ball back when Ford tied up Bohannon for a jump ball. However, a rushed 3-pointer from Ford missed badly and Iowa made it a two-possession game with 9.2 seconds remaining left to seal the win.

- Wisconsin earned the No.6 seed in this week’s Big Ten Tournament and will open play Thursday night against either No.11 Penn State or No.14 Nebraska. Tipoff for that game will be approximately 8 p.m. with the winner facing third-seeded Purdue.