The Wisconsin Badgers used a second-half surge to take what was a close game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at halftime into a double-digit win on Sunday.
One of the keys to the game for the Badgers was to limit star guard Bennett Stirtz’s scoring and dare another Hawkeye player to step up. While Wisconsin struggled in pick-and-roll coverages, Iowa got contributions from Alvaro Foulgerias, Cooper Koch, Kael Combs, and Tavion Banks before Stirtz nailed his first three-pointer to give Iowa an early 17-8 lead. The Badgers responded to take a 22-21 lead, but Iowa led at halftime, 41-40.
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The second half belonged to the Badgers, who outscored the Hawkeyes 44-30 after halftime. It started with an early 11-0 run after a Stirtz three-pointer to take a 51-44 lead. While Iowa cut the Badgers’ lead to three points, Wisconsin went on a 10-0 run with under six minutes left in the game to take firm control of the game.
After one of the worst efforts of the season at Ohio State, the Badgers responded with a much-needed victory over a Big Ten rival. What makes this victory critical is that it improves Wisconsin’s seeding for the NCAA Tournament. As of Monday night, CBS Sports lists the Badgers as a sixth seed in the East region.
Here are three standouts from Wisconsin’s win over Iowa.
Nick Boyd
I mean, what else is there to say after a near triple-double against one of, if not the best, defensive teams in the Big Ten? Boyd put together the best individual performances of the Badgers’ season with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists. No matter what defender Iowa threw at him, Boyd found a way to finish at the rim.
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I will just finish this section with this quote from Ben McCollum: “Letting Boyd get downhill to the left every single possession was not the game plan.”
Nolan Winter
He did not finish with a double-double, but Winter had 18 points on an efficient 8-for-11 from the floor. Both he and Boyd combined for 29 first-half points to keep the Badgers in the game. After going 0-for-7 from behind the three-point line in the last three games, Winter nailed two of his three three-point attempts of the day.
My only complaint: Let’s maybe work on breakaway dunk attempts for the next game.
Austin Rapp
Like Winter, Rapp was also efficient at scoring against the Hawkeyes. The sophomore forward scored 14 points off the bench on 5-of-7 shots from the floor, including hitting 4-of-5 three-pointers. Two of those three-pointers came during that 10-0 second-half run to help Wisconsin pull away from Iowa.
