The Wisconsin Badgers scored the final 16 points of the first half and led by 18 at the halftime break, on the way to a 70-57 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday at the Kohl Center.
Brevin Pritzl scored 19 points off the bench, including 5-of-6 from three, as the Badgers improved to 14-10 overall and 7-6 in Big Ten play.
The Badgers hit 8-of-18 three pointers in the first half and finished 12 of 32 for the game (37.5%).
The Buckeyes shot just 32% from the field in the first half. That, along with their nine first half turnovers allowed the Badgers to go on a 31-7 run over the final 10-plus minutes.
The Badgers defensively didn’t allow the Buckeyes to get comfortable and held the Big Ten’s top three-point shooting team to 6 of 19 from distance (31.6%). UW put an end to Ohio State’s three-game winning streak.
Aleem Ford also scored in double figures, finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds in the win.
The Badgers moved into a tie with Purdue with both teams trailing first place Maryland by 2 1/2 games. The win over the Buckeyes is the second of the season for UW.
Wisconsin gets a couple of days off before returning to practice on Wednesday and facing the Cornhuskers in Nebraska on Saturday.
UW honored the 2000 Final Four team, coached by Dick Bennett at halftime on Sunday.