MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — As was the case in three of Wisconsin’s previous four losses this season, frequent and costly turnovers paved the way to defeat Saturday against Minnesota. Besieged by the relentless Gopher press, the Badgers committed 17 turnovers on the afternoon — the team’s highest total since coughing up possession 18 times in a 74-61 loss at Indiana Jan. 8.

Yet, unlike in the Hoosier defeat, Wisconsin’s errant passes and ball-handling miscues Saturday weren’t quite as spontaneous. With frontcourt giants Jeff Hagen and Dan Coleman safeguarding the driving lanes, the aggressive Gopher guards attacked the ball from end to end.

“We didn’t do a very good job countering the press,” Wisconsin guard Clayton Hanson said. “We just played it right into their hands.”

Safely leading the Big Ten with 208 steals on the year heading in Saturday, the Gopher defense siphoned nine off the Badgers. The high-pressure strategy predicated a 23-5 points-off-turnovers advantage and a 13-2 superiority in fast-break points. Afterward, Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan couldn’t help but be impressed with Minnesota’s uncompromising pursuit on defense.

“The thing about it was, a lot of times we had the ball and it was stripped from us,” Ryan said. “It was the most impressive defense on the ball we’ve faced in a while.”

Small forward Brent Lawson led the Gopher bandits with four snatches on the day. Point man Aaron Robinson chipped in three with guards Vincent Grier and Rico Tucker grabbing one apiece.

After back-to-back solid performances in the ball control game, Wisconsin guard Kammron Taylor committed four turnovers — the most by the sophomore since returning to a starting role last month. Forwards Brian Butch and Zach Morley also felt the pressure, losing the ball four times in a combined 21 minutes on the floor.

“[Wisconsin] is a good team that will always play within themselves and at their pace,” Grier said. “We tried to press them to speed up the game. We were able to force some turnovers and took advantage of those.”

After making strides in recent weeks, the Badgers’ ball control breakdown against the press wasn’t well received among the players.

“We didn’t handle the [pressure] at all,” Wisconsin swingman Alando Tucker said after the game. “That’s one thing we’re definitely going to have to step up because teams are going to look at this and say, ‘All we gotta do is press Wisconsin.'”

Wisconsin will receive another test Wednesday when they face Iowa — conference runner-up to Minnesota with 8.3 steals per game.

Cold as ice: When Wisconsin did manage to get up court with the ball still in hand, the Badgers couldn’t do much with it. With penetration lanes largely locked down from tip-off, Wisconsin’s perimeter scorers lined up for a shootout but failed to find their mark.

“We got a bunch of good looks,” Wisconsin forward Mike Wilkinson said. “We had some guys that were wide open, and the shots didn’t go down.”

Off-guards Hanson, Taylor and point man Sharif Chambliss combined to shoot just 6-for-29 on the afternoon. After a run of success midway through the first period, the Badgers’ shooters quickly cooled but kept firing.

“We settled down and stopped taking quick shots. We were working the ball in and making them actually play defense,” UW’s Alando Tucker said of his team’s brief success. “I think when we settled too early (in hunting our shots) — that hurt us.”

Taylor in particular struggled to break out of the funk, heaving up eight shots in the second half. He made one.

Due to equally poor shooting by the Gophers (31.0 percent) and several successful looks from beyond the arc, Wisconsin kept it close until Grier heated up. In the second half, the Gophers improved by 30.5 percent from the field, while the Badgers upped their mark by just 5.9 percent.

Wisconsin’s slight increase in productivity proved just enough to match Grier’s post-break 26 points.

Tucked away: Scoring 10 points and pulling down six boards against Minnesota, the sophomore Alando Tucker saw action for the first time since the Badgers’ Jan. 25 loss at home against Illinois. Tucker shot 5-for-10 in the game with most of his successful looks coming from medium range.

Typically a force cutting inside, the Badger slasher scored only twice on penetration and failed to get to the line once all afternoon.

“Tucker’s going to be better once he gets into some rhythm finishing around the basket,” Ryan said. “I think that’s an area where he needs to refocus.”

After the game, Tucker said the right foot injury that kept him out of action against Northwestern and Penn State was not bothering him Saturday. According to the Badger swingman, the conservative effort stems more from concerns of re-aggravating the injury so soon after easing his way back on to the court.

“I didn’t want to force anything while I was out there,” Tucker said.