For the first 12 minutes of the game, it looked like the Iowa men’s basketball team was primed for a huge Big Ten road victory against rival Wisconsin. But the other 28 minutes told a different story, as the Badgers dominated the Hawkeyes in every phase of the game en route to a 31-point, 116-85 thrashing on Friday night.
Despite the loss, fifth-year point guard Drew Thelwell turned in an outstanding game, collecting a team-high 25 points, one short of his career-high, along with three assists and four steals. Third-year guard Josh Dix also chipped in 16 points, two steals, and two assists.
The over/under for this game was the highest of the night’s college basketball action, and both teams showed why in the early going. Wisconsin exploited Iowa’s weak interior defense with some backdoor layups, but the Hawkeyes were able to force a couple of turnovers and turned them into easy buckets, resulting in an early 14-11 lead heading into the first media timeout.
The frantic pace continued over the next few minutes, but Iowa maintained a slim edge thanks to a red-hot shooting stretch from Dix. The junior couldn’t miss early, making his first four shots of the game, including a smooth step-back triple that garnered plenty of gasps from the home crowd in Madison.
But just when it seemed like the back-and-forth affair would last, it ended quickly. After Iowa grabbed a 28-22 lead, Wisconsin couldn’t miss from behind the arc, and took advantage of most of Iowa’s starting lineup being off the floor. The Hawkeye offense looked timid without sharpshooters Dix and Payton Sandfort on the floor, and yet head coach Fran McCaffery still wouldn’t burn one of his timeouts. The Badger lead snowballed to eight before McCaffery finally stopped the bleeding, but it was clear that the damage was done.
McCaffery inserted his entire starting lineup after the timeout, but the Iowa offense struggled to find a rhythm, often missing tough turnaround jumpers and wide-open three-pointers. Making matters worse, the Badgers continued their relentless offensive attack, hovering around a double-digit lead thanks to a strong performance from second-year guard John Blackwell, who totaled 15 points in the period
A ridiculous and-one from Wisconsin guard John Tonje capped off a disastrous first half for Iowa, and the Hawkeyes found themselves trailing 54-43 at the break.
John Tonje is making magic happen for @BadgerMBB 💥#B1GMBBall on FS1 📺 pic.twitter.com/NKtBZlUPhW
— Big Ten Men’s Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 4, 2025
Blowout city
Iowa didn’t put up much of a fight early in the second half, allowing the Badgers to get easy buckets from all over the floor, including a couple of wide-open buckets to Blackwell, who continued to shoot lights out after a spectacular first half. Sandfort and second-year point guard Brock Harding each picked up their third fouls early in the half, forcing McCaffery to go to his bench early.
The Hawkeyes’ poor defensive effort continued, and Wisconsin’s lead stretched to 23 points after another wide-open three pointer. At this point in the contest, the Badgers had drained 15 triples, a marked improvement from their usual average of 8.8 made threes per game.
The lone bright spot for Iowa was Thelwell, who continued his tough defense despite the lopsided score, jumping in Wisconsin passing lanes and collecting a couple of steals. But the rest of the Iowa lineup continued to struggle, making his efforts all for naught.
The Badgers continued to light it up from three-point range, and their 20 made triples marked a new program record. The Hawkeyes shook their heads in disbelief, and once the final buzzer sounded, Wisconsin had accumulated a Kohl Center-record 116 points.
Up next
The Hawkeyes will return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Jan. 7 for a matchup against Nebraska, who is 11-2 on the season. The Cornhuskers will have a tough matchup at home against No. 15 UCLA tomorrow afternoon before taking on Iowa.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on Peacock.