Nick Boyd scored 16 points while leading Wisconsin to an 80-60 nonconference win over Milwaukee on Tuesday in Madison, Wis.
Nolan Winter added 14 points and seven rebounds for Wisconsin (9-4). John Blackwell added eight points, six rebounds and four assists for the Badgers, who won their second straight game.
Josh Dixon led Milwaukee (7-7) with 17 points. Amar Augillard added 15 points for the Panthers, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.
The well-rested Badgers took advantage of their seven-day break and exploded out of the gate with an 18-2 run. Wisconsin shot 49.1% (28 of 57) from the field on the night while the Panthers, playing on the second night of a back-to-back set, shot just 33% (21 of 63).
After Danilo Jovanovich tied the game at 2-2 in the opening minute, the Panthers went scoreless for more than eight minutes.
Meanwhile, the Badgers reeled off 16 straight points. Winter had a two-hand dunk in transition, Will Garlock followed with a putback and Andrew Rohde made a 3-pointer to cap the rally.
After Dixon and Sekou Konneh strung together a pair of buckets to stem the Badgers’ run, Wisconsin quickly piled up six straight points for a 24-6 lead at the 6:43 mark.
Milwaukee later inched closer with a 11-5 scoring outburst. An Augillard layup cut the Badgers’ lead to 35-21. Aleksas Bieliauskas’ layup gave Wisconsin a 37-21 halftime lead.
Milwaukee regrouped at halftime and used a 9-0 run to pull within 39-28 on a Konneh jumper. Another Wisconsin run, this one a 10-0 spree that featured a breakaway jam from Winter, gave the Badgers a 50-32 advantage with 12:59 to play.
The Badgers took a 58-38 lead when a Panthers turnover led to Rohde’s backdoor layup with 11:13 remaining.
Winter later followed up a 3-pointer with a layup, and Braeden Carrington’s layup put Wisconsin in control of the game at 70-48 with 7:08 to play.
Wisconsin finished with a 15-4 edge in fastbreak points. The Badgers forced 15 turnovers and held a 20-9 edge in points of giveaways. Wisconsin turned the ball over nine times.
–Field Level Media
