No. 25 Wisconsin Runs By Iowa, 64-51

Badgers win sixth straight game after shooting 41 percent from floor

Jan. 5, 2008

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Brian Butch scored 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting and No. 25 Wisconsin continued its home dominance in the Big Ten with a 64-51 victory over Iowa on Saturday.

The Badgers (12-2, 2-0) won their sixth straight game even with a tepid early shooting performance other than Butch. Not that it mattered at home in the Kohl Center, where coach Bo Ryan's teams are 100-6 and 47-2 against Big Ten opponents.

Iowa (7-8, 0-2) hung around thanks to 13 points by Justin Johnson even though the Hawkeyes struggled with rebounding, turnovers and big foul trouble.

Wisconsin shot 41 percent, lower than Iowa, but were 19-of-27 from the free-throw line, scoring 12 points there in the second half. Joe Krabbenhoft had 12 points and seven rebounds and Michael Flowers added 10 points for the Badgers, who have won nine of the last 10 against Iowa.

Trailing 28-22 at the half, Iowa went on a 6-0 run off a pair of easy baskets by Cyrus Tate, the second on a sharp pass from Jake Kelly to tie the game. Tate also grabbed Iowa's first offensive rebound of the game after the Hawkeyes failed to get one in the first 21 minutes.

Plodding and patient Wisconsin struck back with an 11-1 run thanks to two tough baskets by Butch to give the Badgers their first double-digit lead at 39-29.

The Hawkeyes couldn't mount another run from there, managing just one basket, a 3-pointer, over a nine-minute stretch as Wisconsin kept getting to the free throw line.

That was the worst scenario for Iowa, which had already lost freshman Jarryd Cole for the year with a torn ligament in his knee and dressed only 10 players, including Kelly, who was hobbled with a high right ankle sprain suffered in Wednesday night's loss to Indiana.

Kelly had three fouls midway through the first half and got his fourth with just under 14 minutes to play. Jeff Peterson was whistled for his fourth foul with 10:26 left and Tate got his fourth at the 5:25 mark.

Johnson reached four, too, with 3:50 left and he was the first to foul out 36 seconds later as Iowa committed 27 fouls compared to 14 for the Badgers.

Along with the 14 turnovers the Hawkeyes committed, including 10 in the first half, it didn't matter how poorly Wisconsin was shooting.

Wisconsin likely will need to be sharper against Illinois on Thursday. The Illini have handed Wisconsin its only two conference losses in the Kohl Center.