A good start for the Hawkeyes — Iowa led Wisconsin 28-22 almost 12 minutes into the game — fell apart in the face of torrid shooting from the Badgers, resulting in a 116-85 Wisconsin victory. The loss dropped Iowa to 10-4 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten.

A 19-2 Badger run in the first half flipped the game on its head and put the Hawkeyes in a hole they were never able to escape. Wisconsin shredded the Iowa defense over the final thirty minutes of the game and rolled to an easy win.

Here are three takeaways from the loss.

Both teams started off shooting the ball well, especially from three-point range. Iowa made its first four three-point shots, while Wisconsin made three of its first four threes. But while Iowa’s three-point shooting slowed down, the Badgers just kept burying triple after triple.

Nine different Badgers made at least one three and six players made two or more, led by John Blackwell with a scorching-hot 6-of-10 effort from deep (part of his game-high 32 points). Kamari McGee was the second-best long-range shooter for the Badgers, draining 4-of-5 attempts from beyond the arc.

This sort of three-point eruption from the Badgers wasn’t expected — Wisconsin entered this game shooting 32.5% from deep this season, 217th in the nation. Blackwell was one of the Badgers not firing from deep before tonight — he entered the game making just 28.9% of his long-range efforts, including 3-of-19 in his last six games.

Iowa’s defense didn’t do enough to close out on several of Wisconsin’s three-point attempts and too many of Wisconsin’s school-record 21 threes were wide open. “They got going from the beginning,” Iowa guard Drew Thelwell said. “I don’t think we made enough adjustments to I guess run them off the line or do something else and they just got comfortable out there.”

“We just gotta fly around, have more energy,” added Thelwell. “[It] felt like we just quit on some possessions, which we can’t have, especially starting off on the Big Ten on the road.”

The entire Wisconsin team was clearly in the zone when it came to shooting from beyond the arc — that’s the only way a team can go 21-of-31 from 3-point range. On some level you have to tip your cap to the Badgers; sometimes the flood hits and just washes away everything in its path.

Still, allowing 50+ points in a half or seeing an opponent get hot from long range are not new problems for Iowa basketball — as Thelwell said, the Hawkeyes needed to make some sort of adjustments and do something to stop the torrent of threes flowing from the Badger shooters.

“Our shot selection wasn’t very good, nor was our defense obviously,” Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said. “We gotta be better with our ball-screen action, with our transition defense. Our initial defense was good sometimes, but not our closeouts, not our defense after the ball was reversed, so sometimes they were getting open 3s.”

“They’ve got a lot of weapons,” McCaffery noted. “Once they start hitting 3s, they’re hard to guard. That’s why what you do on the offensive end is so critical.”

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Iowa didn’t do many things well against Wisconsin on Friday, but they did protect the ball well — Iowa had just nine turnovers in the game, versus 13 for the Badgers. The Hawkeyes were able to turn 13 Badger giveaways into a 21-8 edge in points off turnovers.

That was about the only thing that Iowa did better than Wisconsin in this game.

Aside from 3-point shooting, Wisconsin also hammered Iowa on the glass, out-rebounding Iowa 37-21 for the game. Obviously Iowa didn’t have as many defensive rebound opportunities with the ball going through the net again and again on the Wisconsin end (the Badgers shot 64.5% overall from the floor and missed just 22 shots), but they didn’t capitalize well on the chances they did have.

The offensive rebound stats ended up almost even — 8 for Wisconsin, 7 for Iowa — but that’s mainly a function of some late o-boards for the Hawkeyes after the game outcome was long decided. In the first half, Wisconsin out-rebounded 18-9 overall and 5-1 on the offensive glass. They turned that advantage on the offensive boards into a 10-2 edge in second-chance points.

“As a collective unit, I think we just took our foot off the gas pedal,” Thelwell said of Iowa conceding a 19-2 run to Wisconsin after the Hawkeyes led 28-22 in the first half. “Obviously you can’t do that in the Big Ten. [We] just need more energy, more effort, gotta rebound the ball too.”

There are tactical things that Iowa can do to improve its rebounding — as we’ve discussed over the last few days — but one of the biggest changes Iowa can make is bringing more effort to its rebounding attempts. The Badgers seemed to be the quicker team to every loose ball in this game, which is the sort of effort that can be critical in winning the rebounding battle.

One of the only bright spots for Iowa in this drubbing was the play of Morehead State transfer Drew Thelwell. Thelwell had his best game as a Hawkeye (by far), erupting for a team-high 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting (3-of-5 from deep), along with a team-high five assists and two rebounds. Thelwell attacked the Badgers inside and out on offense and did what he could on the defensive end as well.

“He was spectacular at both ends,” said McCaffery after the game. “[He] kept fighting, played at the 1, at the 2, driving the ball, finishing in traffic, getting to the free throw line, making steals. [He] just really tried to will us though those difficult minutes in the middle portion of the game.”

After the game, Thelwell said that he embraced the role of being a sparkplug for the team, especially on the defensive end. “I would say it has to start with somebody,” he said. “If that’s my role to get this team going, I’ll do it the best I can on defense and show them that I’ll always give 100%.”

Aside from Thelwell, Iowa’s top performer was Josh Dix, who made his first four shots of the game and finished with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting (2-of-3 from 3-point range). Dix was key to Iowa’s fast start and early lead and things went south when he went to the bench for a break in the first half; Wisconsin outscored Iowa 16-2 with Dix out of the game in that stretch.

Not one of Iowa’s top performers? Payton Sandfort, who endured one of his worst games in an Iowa uniform and finished with more personal fouls (3) than points (2). Sandfort could not buy a shot, going 1-of-9 from the floor and 0-of-5 from beyond the arc. He did finish with a team-high 5 rebounds.

“Payton puts a lot of pressure on himself,” said McCaffery. “He’s had some off nights. He was fighting tonight, he was trying, [but he] couldn’t get anything to fall. [He] had a couple clean looks, they didn’t go in. That really frustrated him, because teams are guarding him very closely, and then when he gets a clean look, he wants to make it. He was flying at the glass, he was flying around, [it] just didn’t happen for him tonight.”

Iowa is not going to win many games — especially in Big Ten play — when Payton Sandfort scores just two points.

Owen Freeman, Iowa’s other top scorer this season, finished with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting, but had a quiet night overall. He had just three rebounds and struggled mightily to slow down Wisconsin’s twin towers in the post — Nolan Winter and Steven Crowl combined for 32 points (on 12-of-15 shooting), 15 rebounds and 3 assists.

NEXT: Iowa returns home to face Nebraska (11-2, 1-1 Big Ten) in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Tuesday, January 7 (7:00 PM CT, Peacock).

Iowa (10-3, 1-1 Big Ten) vs. Wisconsin (10-3, 0-2 Big Ten)

Date/Time – Friday, January 3, 6 p.m.

Arena – Kohl Center (16,838)

Watch – FS1 (Connor Onion and LaPhonso Ellis)

Radio – Badgers Radio Network (Matt Lepay and Brian Butch), Sirius 106 or 195, stream online on iHeartRadio.

Series – Wisconsin leads 89-86 (Wisconsin leads 56-30 in Madison)

Last Meeting – Iowa won, 88-86, in overtime on February 17, 2024, in Iowa City

Follow Online: The Badgers’ Den

Twitter: @Badger_Blitz

Betting line: Wisconsin -5.5

Player to Watch: Despite struggling offensively, shooting a career-worst 32.5 percent from the floor, Klesmit leads Wisconsin with 38 assists and has a 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio, the second-best mark on the team.

Player to watch: Dix is averaging 15 points and 4.6 rebounds, shooting 56.6 percent from the field (43-of-76) with 13 3-point field goals over his last seven games. Dix scored 17 points on 8-for-11 shooting in last February’s win over Wisconsin.

Wisconsin had its four-game winning streak in the series snapped in last February’s overtime loss in Iowa City.

The Badgers have won the last three meetings in Madison. The Hawkeyes have won three games in Madison during the McCaffery era (2011-12, 2016-17, 2020-21).

Crowl scored 22 points in the last meeting against Iowa, registering career-bests in field goals (13) and field goal attempts (15). In five career games against Iowa, the senior averages 13.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game, all while shooting 64.3% from the field.

The Badgers finished the nonconference schedule 10-1, losing only at No.5 Marquette. The 10 wins were the most for Wisconsin out of conference since going 11-2 in 2016-17. UW beat four Power-Five conference teams in the nonconference (Arizona, Butler, Pittsburgh, and UCF), its most since 2018-19.

Wisconsin leads the NCAA in free-throw shooting at 85.1 percent, well ahead of the Big Ten record of 81.8 percent that Wisconsin set in 2010-11.

The Badgers are averaging 15.0 assists per game, their most since 1993-94. With UW ranking 18th nationally in turnovers (9.6), the program has never had a season averaging over 15 assists with fewer than 10 turnovers per game.

UW is taking 27 three-point shots per game and making 8.8 three-pointers per game, the most in both categories for the Badgers since the inception of the three-point line in 1986-87.

With a career record of 104-72, Greg Gard is one of 23 Big Ten coaches to register 100 conference wins. He’s the sixth-fastest Big Ten coach to 100 wins in the last 50 years. Gard’s overall record is 196-110 (.641).

Friday’s game at Wisconsin is just Iowa’s second true road game of the season. The Hawkeyes had a look at the buzzer in an 85-83 loss at Michigan on Dec. 7. Iowa is 2-1 in three neutral site games this season.

The Hawkeyes have shot better than 50 percent from the floor in three straight contests and in seven games this season. Iowa shot a season-high 62.7 percent in its victory over New Orleans. Iowa is unbeaten this season when shooting at least 50 percent from the field.

The Hawkeyes have made at least eight 3-point field goals in 12 games, including 10+ in seven contests. Iowa made 18 in the win over Southern — the most since 2022 — and 14 against New Orleans. Iowa is second in the Big Ten (23rd nationally), averaging 10.5 per game.

Iowa is leading the Big Ten in assists (20.2, second in NCAA) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.98, fourth in NCAA). The team has had 20+ assists in six games.

Iowa has held 11 of its 13 opponents under 50 percent shooting (and two under 40 percent), has forced at least 18 turnovers in six games, and has held four opponents under 70 points.

Wisconsin’s home game against Iowa tonight might be the hottest ticket in town for those wanting to see offensive fireworks.

The Badgers and Hawkeyes are both inside the top 20 in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency ratings and ranked outside the top 75 in adjusted defensive efficiency.

Iowa ranks second nationally in scoring (89.7) while KenPom has them ranked in the top 30 in effective field goals percentage (59.0%), offensive turnover percentage (13.6%), 2-point percentage (60.2%) and 3-point percentage (38.3%). A lot of the offense stems from transition offense, another stat where the Hawkeyes are among the national leaders (Iowa’s 17.54 fast-break points per game has them ranked ninth).

Wisconsin’s transition defense has been hit-and-miss. The Badgers allowed double-digit fast-break points to Michigan (19), Arizona (12), and Butler (12) but held Marquette (6) and Illinois (4) in check.

Last February at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa converted 52.6 percent of its shots, including 26 of 43 inside the arc (60.5 percent) and 24 of 30 (80 percent) from the line.

“Having a first game back that requires (us to be good with transition defense) is a challenge,” Gard said.

There are multiple pieces that make Iowa work. Dix is producing in his starting role by shooting 53.4 percent from the floor and Harding used his experience of backing up Tony Freeman last season to pressure defenses by making smart decisions with Iowa’s transition offense (76 assists, 29 turnovers).

The Hawkeyes are still empowered by Freeman, who leads them in scoring (17.1), rebounds (6.5) and blocks (22). He is the only Hawkeye to reach double figures in every game he has played. McCaffery said Freeman will play tonight after missing Monday’s game against New Hampshire with an ankle injury. The Hawkeyes didn’t appear to miss him, as their 45 field goals against UNH were the most under McCaffery.

“Owen is a great player for them with shooters all around him,” Crowl said. “They play really fast. They play hard. They switch things up on defense … He’s a great player. He runs the floor hard, which makes us as bigs have to run, too. They utilize him in a great way. He’s grown immensely from last year to this year.”

Wisconsin ranks among the bottom four of the Big Ten in field goal percentage (44.9) and 3-point percentage (32.5) but the Badgers have made it work by limiting turnovers and being proficient at the line, especially at home (86.9). If UW can continue tightening its defense, the Badgers should get a needed conference win tonight.

Worgull’s Prediction: Wisconsin by nine

Record: 10-3 (9-4 ATS)

Points off Prediction: 104 (8.0 per game)

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