Micah Potter scored 19 points to lift the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team (16-8, 10-7 Big Ten) over the Northwestern Wildcats (6-14, 3-13) to earn their 10th conference victory of the season.
Potter was red hot shooting the ball. The Badgers big man came off the bench and connected on seven of his eight shots, including shooting 3-for-3 from distance. Potter also finished with eight rebounds and three assists, continuing his hot play from their previous game against the University of Iowa (17-6, 11-5), where Potter scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Wisconsin had five players score in double figures — Potter with 19, D’Mitrik Trice with 13, Brad Davidson with 12, Jonathan Davis with 12 and Tyler Wahl with 10 — improving to 10-1 when at least four players score in double figures.
The Badgers saw big production off the bench against Northwestern as well. Thirty-one of the Badgers’ 68 points came from the bench, thanks to Potter and freshman Davis.
Nate Reuvers saw limited minutes for the second straight game despite starting in both. Reuvers finished with four points and one rebound in just 10 minutes against Iowa. Against Northwestern, Reuvers finished with two points and one rebound in 17 minutes.
Men’s Basketball: Wisconsin drops second consecutive home game, fall 77–62 to No. 11 Iowa
The Badgers took advantage at the free-throw line in Sunday’s game. Wisconsin connected on 13-of-15 free throw attempts (86.7%), while only allowing the Wildcats to take eight.
The 68–51 victory marked the 10th Big Ten conference win for the Badgers, marking the program’s consistency as they’ve reached that mark in 18 of the last 20 seasons.
The loss for Northwestern marked their 13th in a row after making noise early in the season, starting 3-0 in Big Ten play. Sophomore guard Boo Buie led the Wildcats with 19 points and four assists. The rest of the Wildcat starters combined for just 17 points.
Davison recorded the 72nd charge of his career. Davison has not been the go-to scorer for the Badgers, but he deserves praise for his effort on the defensive end of the ball night-in and night-out.
Wisconsin remains at sixth place in the conference with the win. The Badgers have been eliminated from a Big Ten regular-season title, but are still battling for a top-four finish in the conference and a double-bye in the Big Ten tournament.
Wisconsin does not play until Saturday when they take on the Fighting Illini of Illinois (16-5, 12-3). Illinois is currently ranked fourth in the NET rankings with seven quad one wins. Tip-off at the Kohl Center is set for 1 p.m. on ESPN.
