On a night that ended with a tribute video to honor senior guards Trevon Hughes and Jason Bohannon, junior forward Jon Leuer put on a spectacular display that might end up filling his future highlight reel all on its own.
Playing their final game of the season at the Kohl Center, the Wisconsin Badgers throttled Iowa in all facets of the game en route to a 67-40 win. The Badgers racked up a better shooting percentage, more rebounds and more assists, as well as more blocks and steals.
At the very least, Iowa only committed six fouls to Wisconsin’s 10 in 40 minutes of action.
Leuer led the way for UW, pumping in an efficient 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting, and anchored the paint defensively with three blocks and numerous alterations.
Four games back from a wrist injury, Leuer put an exclamation point on his complete return to pre-injury form with three emphatic dunks throughout the contest.
“I think each game he has looked a little bit more comfortable,” UW head coach Bo Ryan said. “In recognizing game speeds and reactions and things like that. Some people would say — well you didn’t play a big team, or this or that — and I know that is all part of it… if he is comfortable, and he is in a rhythm, he can be a pretty good player.”
Most impressively, Leuer’s points came in a variety of spots. The junior forward found two easy dunks rolling off a ball pick, threw down another slam after Hughes found him trailing on a fast break and worked in the post for several jump hooks and turn-arounds.
Using every inch of his 6-foot-11 height, Leuer scored at will over the smaller Iowa post defenders.
“My teammates were just finding me when I was open, and it makes it a lot easier to score when you have guys doing that,” Leuer said. “It was unselfish play.”
Though the game started slow — UW only led 12-10 seven minutes in — the Badgers exploded for 18 straight points to stretch the margin to 20 in a little under eight minutes.
Leuer scored 10 straight during the run on two flushes at the rim and two deep three-pointers.
Hawkeye head coach Todd Lickliter said trailing by so much so early was too much pressure for his team to handle on the road.
“We just panicked, and when you panic against Wisconsin, you are in big trouble,” Lickliter said. “We had this stretch where they got easy scores, and we got anxious and got in a hurry. And that plays right into their hand.
“They build a lead and you probably are not taking it back because they aren’t going to throw it away. They are going to continue to work the clock and probably get the shot they want.”
Leading by 20 with six minutes left in the game and up 36-16 entering halftime, the Badgers put it on cruise control for the rest of the night.
Bohannon and Hughes both reached double-digit point totals, and the team as a whole shot 54 percent from the field.
Working the ball inside through post touches and dribble drives, the Badgers attempted 39 two-point field goals to only 12 three-point looks — a departure from UW’s reliance on the long ball for much of Big Ten play.
Wisconsin also clamped down defensively on the overmatched Hawkeyes, holding Iowa to 37 percent shooting and corralling leading scorer Matt Gatens to a mere seven points.
“It’s obvious how good Wisconsin is. They’ve been ranked most of the year, and they’re just an excellent team,” Lickliter said. “When (Jon) Leuer goes 8-9… they’ve just got so many guys. They have five guys who have scored over 20 points. They’re very well-schooled.”
