MADISON, Wis. -- Coach Greg Gard is always focused on Wisconsin being a defense-first team.

When the 17th-ranked Badgers faced a slim first-half deficit against Oklahoma, Gard delivered a stern halftime message - and senior forward Nigel Hayes did the heavy lifting in the second half.

Hayes scored a game-high 28 points to a pace Wisconsin to a 90-70 victory over Oklahoma on Saturday at the Kohl Center.

Hayes registered 18 second-half points for the Badgers (7-2), who won their third consecutive game.

The Badgers registered a season-low five turnovers and only gave up 10 second-half points in the paint to the Sooners.

Gard said players responded to his feedback with ramping up on their performance on defense. Hayes' unselfish play and shooting also were critical.

"Our offensive efficiency was pretty good," Gard said. "The numbers jump out as far as Nigel having six assists and no turnovers. The plays that he made in there and the attention that he drew (were important)."

"We have to take more pride in all the time and all the drill work we do defensively. We can't have seven point-blank layups at the rim. We have to do a better job with communication in transition. Just those things, the attention to detail: 'You made yourself into a pretty good defensive team, this is not time to have a regression.' "

Hayes and freshman guard D'Mitrick Trice drained back-to-back 3-pointers that pushed Wisconsin to its biggest lead at 77-60 with 6:39 to go.

Trice, senior guard Bronson Koenig and sophomore forward Ethan Happ each delivered 16 points for the Badgers.

Trice hit 4-of-4 shots from beyond the arc for the Badgers, who shot 44.4 percent (12 of 27) overall from 3-point range.

The Sooners (5-2) were mired in a second-half field-goal drought that stretched five-plus minutes. Sophomore guard Rashard Odomes scored 17 points for Oklahoma, which was competing in its first true road game of the season.

Oklahoma never trailed in the first half, but after Odomes' 12-foot jumper put the Sooners up 58-57 at 11:45 of the second, the Badgers took control with a 20-3 run.

Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said Wisconsin got into a rhythm and gained confidence with its shooting. The Sooners didn't make any defensive adjustments in the second against the Badgers, who shot 63.3 percent from the field in the second. They also drained 8-of-14 shots from beyond the arc in the final half.

"The last 10 (minutes), I thought Wisconsin was great," Kruger said. "They started making shots like that in the second half, really knocked us on our heels and we didn't respond very well to that."

Sophomore guard Khaliil Iverson's dunk on a feed from senior guard Zak Showalter pushed Wisconsin's lead to 66-60 with 9:56 left in the game. Koenig's 3-pointer from the top of the key extended the Badgers' advantage to 69-60.

The teams swapped the lead nine times early in the second half, as Hayes' teardrop jumper put Wisconsin ahead at 55-52 with 13:25 left in the game.

Sooners senior guard Jordan Woodard shot 3-of-4 from beyond the arc in the first half for Oklahoma, which led by as many as eight points in the opening half.

Freshman guard Kameron McGusty came off the bench for the Sooners and contributed 11 points in 12 minutes.

The Sooners, competing in their first true road game of the season, shot 50 percent (14 of 28) from the field in the first half.

The Badgers were 4-of-6 from the field in the first to keep the Sooners within reach. Happ and Hayes combined to score 13 points in the final 6:55 of the first half to pull Wisconsin to within 40-37.

Happ and Hayes scored 10 points each in the first half to pace Wisconsin.

Trice, a reserve, scored eight points in 11 minutes off the bench, including two 3-pointers in the first. Trice also took a charge to fire up the Badgers.

The Sooners had a first-half edge with free-throw shooting, draining 7-of-7 from the foul line. Wisconsin was 5-of-9 from the charity stripe.

NOTES: The game between Oklahoma and Wisconsin marked the third straight season that the teams played each other. The Sooners won the most recently meeting, a 65-48 home win on Nov. 29, 2015. ... Senior forward Nigel Hayes was the only Wisconsin player in double-digit scoring and the Sooners got a combined 46 points from the seniors Ryan Spangler, Buddy Hield and Isaiah Cousins. ... Entering the game against Wisconsin, the Sooners shot 40.5 percent (45 of 111) from beyond the arc, which ranked 22nd among NCAA Division I teams. ... Badgers freshman guard D'Mitrick Trice, a reserve, has shot 13-of-20 from 3-point range this season. ... Wisconsin extending its homecourt winning streak to 11 games.