The 12th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers fell behind 7-0 early but quickly rebounded with some hot shooting and a pair of runs to roll to a 77-63 win over the Loyola Ramblers on Tuesday night at the Kohl Center.
Six Badgers hit three-point shots and finished 10 of 18 (55.6%) from distance as a team against the Ramblers. The Badgers entered the game shooting 37% from distance and improved their average to 39.7% for the season.
Brad Davison and D’Mitrik Trice scored 17 points each for the Badgers (5-1) and UW hit 17 of their 23 free throw attempts. The Badgers also got 13 points and seven rebounds from Micah Potter and 12 points off the bench from freshman Jonathan Davis on 5 of 10 shooting.
The Badgers missed their first eight shots from the field to start the game and didn’t score until Davison hit a three-point shot with 14 1/2 minutes left in the first half. The Badgers would carry a 31-26 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Wisconsin had two big runs during the contest, 17-3 in the first half and a 19-2 run in the second half.
Loyola was led by senior Cameron Krutwig, who scored 19 points and pulled down five rebounds. The Ramblers (3-1) lost for the first time this season.
Wisconsin now returns to practice to prepare for Saturday’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge matchup with Louisville at the Kohl Center. They’ll start Big Ten play next Tuesday against Nebraska at the Kohl Center.
AUDIO: Coach Greg Gard says it was a good win against a good team :15
AUDIO: Micah Potter says 3-point success provided a big lift :13
AUDIO: Greg Gard on overcoming a slow start :22