It was another impressive start for the Badgers (17-10, 10-6 Big Ten) against Rutgers University (18-10, 9-8) at the Kohl Center as they put up 39 points in the first half while shooting 46% from distance. Wisconsin also held it down on the defensive side of the ball by holding the Scarlet Knights to 0% from beyond the arc on six attempts. 

The first half performance for the Badgers really set the tone for the rest of the game, and it gave the Badgers a 13 point lead which they never gave up. Wisconsin ended up winning the game by the score of 79–71.   

Men’s Basketball: Badgers continue to show resiliency after loss of Kobe King

The big men for the Badgers put in another impressive performance. Micah Potter led all scorers with 18 points while also collecting nine rebounds. Nate Reuvers also found success scoring the basketball as he finished with 17 points. A majority of his scoring — 14 of his 17 points — came in the first half. Reuvers was also responsible for 11 of the Badgers’ first 17 points.  

The most impressive performance on the day came from Senior Brevin Pritzl. Pritzl found his stride shooting the ball as he ended the game shooting 70% from the field. He converted an “and-one” mid-range jumper during the game and he even finished a lob pass on a baseline out of bounds play in the second half. The senior from De Pere, Wisconsin finished with 17 points in his 36 minutes on the court.  

The Badgers’ hot shooting never let up throughout the entirety of the game, as they finished by shooting the ball 50% from three-point land — knocking down 11 of their 22 attempts. In contrast, Rutgers shot just 28.6% from deep. 

Men’s Basketball: Wisconsin takes down Purdue at home behind Ford, Pritzl

It was not just three-pointers that killed Rutgers, but free throws as well. The Scarlet Knights were only able to make seven of their 10 free-throw attempts, as the Badgers got to the line with ease. Wisconsin saw 26 total free throw attempts and knocked down 20 of them.  

With the Penn State Nittany Lions losing today on the road at Indiana, Wisconsin has found themselves in a four-way tie for second place in the Big Ten conference. Just six days ago, the Badgers were sitting at seventh place in the conference. But after two wins this week, the Badgers have worked themselves into second place — only two games back on the Terrapins. 

This speaks volumes of how tough this conference really is and how tight the race for the conference crown is coming down the final stretch of the season. 

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The Badgers now begin preparations for Thursday’s trip to Ann Arbor. Thursday’s game against the Michigan Wolverines is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN2.