Field Level Media
Mar 7, 2019
Ethan Happ scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in his last Wisconsin home game Thursday night as the No. 21 Badgers moved within a game of securing a double bye in next week's Big Ten Conference Tournament by pasting Iowa 65-45 at Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.
Happ also added three assists, two steals and two blocked shots for Wisconsin (21-9, 13-6 Big Ten), which will clinch the fourth seed for the conference tourney if it wins its regular season finale Sunday at Ohio State.
Khalil Iverson also posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds as the Badgers polished off a series sweep of the Hawkeyes (21-9, 10-9).
After making two free throws with 2:25 left, Happ left the game, blowing a kiss to the crowd and then hugging teammates as he came off the floor.
Happ recently became the fifth player in Division I history to collect 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 400 assists.
No one scored in double figures for Iowa, which got eight points from Jordan Bohannon. The Hawkeyes entered the game averaging 79.7 points per game, but made just 18 of 59 shots from the field and 5 of 22 from the 3-point line as they lost for the fourth time in five games.
It was the final game of Iowa coach Fran McCaffery's two-game suspension for a profanity-laced tirade at a game official after a 90-70 loss Feb. 26 at Ohio State.
Assistant coach Kirk Speraw ran the team in McCaffery's absence.
The Hawkeyes led for short stretches during the game's first eight minutes, but Wisconsin took command with a 12-2 burst over a 5 1/2-minute span.
Happ's free throw with 6:30 left made it 20-13, and the Badgers went on to a 31-22 lead at halftime.
Any hopes Iowa envisioned of a second-half rally were quashed when Wisconsin opened the half with an 11-4 spurt, establishing a 42-26 advantage on D'Mitrik Trice's jump hook with 14:49 left.
The margin never dipped below 14 for the game's remainder.
--Field Level Media