Davis, depth too much for Hawkeyes
MADISON – Johnny Davis was the best player on the floor.
Wisconsin was the better allaround team.
End of story.
The result was that UW led rival Iowa for nearly 38 minutes, led by as many as 23 points in the second half and won comfortably, 87-78, Thursday night at the Kohl Center in front of an announced crowd of 15,212.
Davis, who fashioned a 37-point, 14rebound performance Monday at Purdue, scored 19 points in the opening half Thursday to help UW build a 45-32 lead.
He finished with 26 points, nine rebounds and five of UW's 15 assists.
The talented sophomore got plenty of help as all five UW starters finished with at least 11 points.
“We've got a lot of guys that can bring a lot of different things to the table,” said junior forward Tyler Wahl, who was given the assignment of defending Iowa star Keegan Murray. “Whoever's night it is, we look to them to produce as much as they can. I think this team is pretty dangerous and we've got a lot of good things coming.”
When Wahl (8.9 points per game, 5.0 rebounds) wasn't chasing Murray all over the court, he was scoring, rebounding and looking to set up teammates. Wahl scored in the lane at will, hit 6 of 7 shots and contributed 16 points, nine rebounds and two assists.
“I thought Tyler played exceptionally well,” UW coach Greg Gard said. “Had a heck of a defensive challenge with Keegan. So you have to do that on one end and then you come back on the other end and go 6 for 7 with nine rebounds.”
Guard Brad Davison (14.5 ppg, 34.4% three-point shooting) hit 6 of 11 shots and finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Steven Crowl (8.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg) hit 6 of 8 shots and contributed 12 points, three assists and three rebounds. Crowl fed Carter Gilmore for a basket to give UW a 76-53 lead with 7 minutes 8 seconds remaining.
Chucky Hepburn (7.3 ppg, 2.2 apg) added 11 points and two rebounds and Jahcobi Neath (two points, four rebounds, one assist) gave UW quality minutes off the bench.
The 23rd-ranked Badgers snapped a four-game losing streak to Iowa.
At 3-1 in the Big Ten and 12-2 overall, the Badgers are off to their best start since the 2016-17 season. UW started 2-0 in the Big Ten and 13-2 overall that season, finished 12-6 in the Big Ten and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
Iowa (11-4, 1-3) saw its winning streak end at four games.
The Hawkeyes were coming off an 80-75 home victory over Maryland.
The Terrapins, who host UW on Sunday, suffered a 76-64 loss Thursday night at Illinois to fall to 0-3 in the league and 8-6 overall.
Murray entered the game leading the nation in scoring (24.5). He had scored at least 25 points in seven games and was shooting 35.6% from three-point range and 59.2% overall.
Murray hit 2 of 4 three-pointers and 10 of 16 shots overall and finished with 27 points and five rebounds to lead four players in double-figure scoring.
“Keegan is a heck of a matchup,” Gard said. “He had 27. You're not going to shut him out. We just had to try to make the catches tough. Try to make the looks tough.”
The Badgers had the best player and, at least on this night, were the superior team.
“I think it just shows how much firepower we have on the offensive end,” said Davis, who hit 3 of 7 three-pointers and 10 of 18 shots overall. “Steven inside-out. Tyler I think is one of the best post players in the country.
“We're kind of tired of people not expecting us to do a whole lot. I think we're really proving people wrong.”