MADSON — After a massive road win over Purdue, the Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team (12-2, 3-1 on the Big Ten overall) welcomed the Iowa Hawkeyes to a big conference call at Cole Center Thursday night. In a meeting of Johnny Davis and Keegan Murray, two of the top three scorers in the entire country, it was Davis who got the last laugh as the Badgers won by nine.
Game over.
#badger Takes Iowa down from 87 to 78 with 26 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists from Johnny Davis to help improve the season to 12-2.
— Bucky’s 5th Quarter (@B5Q) 7 January 2022
In the beginning of the match, both the teams were successful in scoring goals. In the first media timeout, each team was shooting upwards of 66%, with Wisconsin taking a sharp 14-10 lead due to two key three-pointers by Davis and Chucky Hepburn.
Playing at a faster pace, the Iowa favorite, the Badgers still maintained a one-point lead with 12 remaining in the first half. However, Iowa was looking after the business in the paint, with 14 of their 19 points coming early.
Davis took matters into his own hands over the next few minutes, as the sensation of sophistication would add seven points to extend Wisconsin’s advantage to 12 points by the next media timeout.
Iowa would score 6-0 under the leadership of Murray and Patrick McCaffrey while Davis took a quick breath. During that time, the Wisconsin offense spread against Iowa’s zone defense, but the Badgers would respond with a 6–0 run after Davis returned to the court.
With three minutes left in the first half, UW’s lead was up to 11 points. After fouling Brad Davison in a three-point effort with eight seconds remaining, the senior guard would give the Badgers a 13-point advantage at half.
Halftime from Coal Center.#badger lead #Hawk Eyes 45-32
Johnny Davis: 19 points, 7 rebounds
Keegan Murray: 11 points, 3 rebounds— Bucky’s 5th Quarter (@B5Q) 7 January 2022
In the opening moments of the second half, the Badgers were able to extend their lead as they went inside on the Hawkeyes defence. By the 16:13 mark, Wisconsin had established a 19-point lead and appeared to be in control.
Iowa would cut the deficit slightly, but the Badgers still held a 61-46 lead until the next media timeout, thanks to some significant offensive rebounds. A beautiful alley-op between Jahkobie Neath and Davis at 2-on-1 created by a forceful defensive sequence from Chris Vogt illuminated the next few minutes as Wisconsin once again took a 19-point lead.
With 6:12 to play, Davison would push the bucket score by Carter Gilmore and Davis to 77-55 as everything was going UW’s way. Murray would keep Iowa in it, although Iowa was back within 13 points in the next two minutes, based largely on his offensive play.
Alas, that wasn’t enough, and the Badgers would throw it under cruise control to take a major conference win over the Hawkeyes 87 to 78.
- Johnny Davis —> 26 points (10-in-18 from the floor), nine rebounds, five assists
- Tyler Wahl —> 16 points (6-in-7 from the floor), nine rebounds, two assists, two steals
- Brad Davison –> 18 points (6-11 off the floor), seven rebounds, two assists
- Keegan Murray (Iowa) —> 27 points (10 of 10 from the floor), five rebounds
next: The Badgers will take their talents on the road for a matchup with the Maryland Terrapins on Sunday. Tip Time is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
