Frank Kaminsky scored 24 points to help inspire his #4 Wisconsin Badgers to a crucial Big 10 victory over the iowa Hawkeyes. Nigel Hayes added 14 points to help give the Badgers their 7th conference win in 8 tries.
Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan was pleased with his team’s effort on Saturday, a win that gives them consecutive conference victories on the road. Most recently, the Badgers struggled to hold a lead against Michigan and barely survived with a victory. Wisconsin put an extra emphasis on finishing games and it showed in the game against Iowa.
"We're road warriors," Kaminsky said. "We've kind of embraced that mentality throughout the years. We were able to silence the crowd with some shots."
One of those shots came from Josh Gasser, who hit a big three-point shot to help spur a 13-5 run that ultimately decided the outcome. Hayes had a momentous put back dunk during that same stretch that effectively silenced the home Hawkeye crowd.
Iowa finished the game in an offensive slide and managed only 27 points in the second half after putting up 36 over this first 20 minutes. Aaron White scored a game high 15 points for the Hawkeyes.
Iowa did cut a double digit Wisconsin lead to four points midway through the second half, but the Badgers’ run was too much to overcome. The Hawkeyes fall to 4-4 in Big 10 play with the loss, the team;s third in a row.
"We had a couple of quick shots, contested shots,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said about his team’s struggles. “And then we had a couple of goofy turnovers that really hurt us.”
As for Wisconsin, the Badgers have an even stronger hold on the top spot in the Big 10 after beating Michigan and now Iowa in back-to-back road games. The Badgers will host Indiana with a two game lead on 4 teams, including the Hoosiers.