Micah Potter scored 19 points and D'Mitrik Trice added 13 as No. 21 Wisconsin dealt host Northwestern its 13th straight defeat, rolling to a 68-51 win on Sunday night at Evanston, Ill.
Jonathan Davis and Brad Davison added 12 points apiece to help the Badgers snap a two-game losing streak. Wisconsin used a 10-0 run midway through the second half to pull away after the Wildcats cut the deficit to seven points at 46-39 with 12:59 remaining.
Northwestern (6-14, 3-13 Big Ten) trailed by as many as 19 down the stretch. Boo Buie had 19 points, finishing as the only Wildcats player in double figures.
The Badgers shot 41.1 percent compared to 40 percent for the Wildcats, as Wisconsin (16-8, 10-7 Big Ten) earned a season sweep of Northwestern, following up on a 68-52 home victory on Jan. 20. The Badgers extended their winning streak over the Wildcats to six games.
Potter proved to be a notable difference maker Sunday. After contributing 10 points and two rebounds in 17 minutes when the schools met at Madison, Wis., last month, he steadied the Badgers this time, shooting 7 of 8 from the field while adding a team-high eight rebounds to go with three assists and two steals.
Robbie Beran was the Wildcats' second-leading scorer with seven points, while Anthony Gaines grabbed six rebounds and Buie dished four assists.
Trice added five assists and five rebounds for the Badgers.
Wisconsin opened the game by hitting six of its first eight shots but cooled considerably after that, missing nine straight attempts from the field during one stretch. The Badgers recovered to shoot 42.3 percent in the first half and took a 34-24 advantage into the break behind 15 points from Potter and solid support from Davis (nine points) and Trice (eight).
Potter went 5 of 6 from the field while making each of his three attempts from long range in the first half, while Buie had 11 points at the break on 5-of-9 shooting.
Wisconsin has now won at least 10 conference games in 18 of the past 20 seasons.
--Field Level Media
Wisconsin | Northwestern | |
Micah Potter 19 | Scoring | Boo Buie 19 |
D'Mitrik Trice 5 | Assists | Boo Buie 4 |
Micah Potter 8 | Rebounds | Anthony Gaines 6 |
Jonathan Davis 6 | Free Throws Made | Miller Kopp 2 |
Jonathan Davis 3 | Steals | Chase Audige 1 |
Micah Potter 1 | Blocks | Chase Audige 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Wisconsin | 68 | 40.4 | 9-26 | 13-15 | 17 | 32 | 3 | 10 | 8 |
Northwestern | 51 | 40.0 | 6-20 | 5-8 | 13 | 25 | 4 | 4 | 14 |