Just when you didn’t think it could get any worse, the Wisconsin Badgers got off to another slow start and fell to Northwestern 60-52 at the Kohl Center on Thursday night.
Northwestern jumped out to a 18-1 lead, on their way to a much-needed victory.
The Badgers (10-14, 3-8 Big Ten) were coming off a bad loss to Nebraska on Monday, then laid an egg early against the Wildcats on Thursday night.
Northwestern (14-10, 5-6) didn’t do much in the second half, but their lead was enough to survive. Junior center Derek Pardon finished with 17 points to lead the Wildcats. Scottie Lindsey chipped in with 14.
Junior forward Khalil Iverson had 15 points and a career high nine rebounds to lead the Badgers. Ethan Happ added 14 points, Aleem Ford had 12 and freshman guard Brad Davison finished with 10 points.
The Badgers shot a season low 32.8% from the field in Big Ten play. They hit just 29.4% in the second half.
Sophomore guard Brevin Pritzl’s shooting slump continued. He finished 0 for 11 and 0 for 9 from three-point range. The Badgers as a team were 7 of 26 (26.9%) from distance for the game.
The Badgers crawled back to within six at 52-46 with 1:19 left to play, but having to foul late, they watched the Wildcats go 8 for 8 at the free throw line in that final stretch.
The Badgers play next at Maryland on Sunday.