Ethan Happ
It was far from perfect, but the 19th ranked Wisconsin Badgers aren’t interested in style points at this stage of the season. After falling to Minnesota at the Kohl Center on January 3, the Badgers returned the favor, pulling out a 56-51 win on Wednesday night at Williams Arena in Minneapolis.
The Badgers missed a number of shots in the lane in the first half but settled down in the second half to pull out the win.
The Badgers (17-6, 9-3 Big Ten) extended their win streak to six games and moved into a third place tie with Michigan State in the Big Ten race. Wisconsin is a half game behind Purdue and a game behind front running Michigan and will face the Wolverines on Saturday in Ann Arbor.
The Badgers got 15 points and 13 rebounds from Ethan Happ as they won on the road for the seventh time in the last eight games. Guard Brad Davison added 10 points, although hit just 2 of 12 from the field.
Minnesota’s Amir Coffey had 21 points and six rebounds in the Gophers victory in Madison last month. Last night, he managed just 8 points on 3 of 10 shooting from the field. Forward Jordan Murphy kept the Gophers within striking distance, scoring 16 points and pulling down 19 rebounds in the loss.
The Gophers shoot 31% from three-point range for the season, but last night, they made just 1 of 13 from distance, falling to 6-6 in the Big Ten.
AUDIO: Coach Greg Gard on winning on the road in the Big Ten :15
AUDIO: Ethan Happ said style points don’t matter right now :12