Field Level Media
Feb 18, 2021
Luka Garza had 30 points and Joe Wieskamp added 17 as visiting No. 11 Iowa earned its third straight win, a 77-62 decision over No. 21 Wisconsin on Thursday in Madison, Wis.
Iowa (16-6, 10-5 Big Ten), which saw its 16-point lead early in the second half trimmed to three, ultimately pulled away again to win their second straight in the series while improving to 6-3 against ranked foes this season.
Brad Davison, who was 5-for-11 from 3-point range en route to 15 points, drilled a trey to pull the Badgers within 49-46 with 9:17 to go. Wisconsin (15-8, 9-7) would come no closer, however, as the Hawkeyes scored 22 of the next 30 points to seize control.
Iowa eventually took an 18-point advantage down the stretch.
The Badgers have lost three of four and five of eight. Wisconsin has not won consecutive games since a two-game streak on Jan. 15 and Jan. 20.
Micah Potter finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Badgers while D'Mitrik Trice contributed 11 points and nine assists.
Keegan Murray snagged a game-high 12 rebounds to boost Iowa to a 41-37 advantage on the glass. Garza added eight boards to augment another efficient offensive effort, shooting 11-for-19 while netting his seventh game this season of at least 30 points.
Wieskamp was 5-for-6 from long range to boost Iowa to a 12-for-19 showing from deep. The Badgers were 13-for-34 from 3-point range as they fell to 5-1 this season when hitting 10 treys or more.
Garza paced Iowa to a 36-27 lead at the break, scoring 17 points on 7-for-12 shooting, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range.
Iowa shot 51.7 percent in the first 20 minutes compared to 25 percent for Wisconsin. The Hawkeyes led by as many as 13 in the first half before the Badgers scored nine of the final 14 points to draw within single digits at halftime.
--Field Level Media