MADISON, Wis. -- If Wisconsin senior guard Bronson Koenig finds his shooting rhythm from long range, opponents often have a tough time halting the veteran.

Such was the case for Ohio State on Thursday night.

Koenig scored a game-high 21 points to lead No. 18 Wisconsin to an 89-66 victory over Ohio State in a Big Ten game at the Kohl Center.

Koenig showed off his long-range prowess, drilling 5 of 7 from 3-point range. The Badgers shot 54.5 percent (12 of 22) on 3-pointers.

Senior forward Vitto Brown, junior guard Jordan Hill and sophomore forward Alex Illikainen had two 3-pointers each for Wisconsin.

Ohio State coach Thad Matta was impressed with Koenig's effort. Koenig was elevated to a starting role two years ago as a sophomore, replacing Traevon Jackson, who suffered an ankle injury. Koenig helped lead the Badgers to the NCAA championship game against Duke.

Koenig moved to fourth place on the list for most 3-pointers in program history with 214. The three players ahead of Koenig are Ben Brust (235), Tim Locum (227) and Kirk Penney (217).

"He's a terrific player," Matta said. "When Traevon went down it was good because Koenig had some big-time minutes. I remember saying I thought he was one of the best guards in the Big Ten back then. Obviously tonight, he played like that."

The effort marked the third time Koenig has drilled on 5 or more 3-pointers in a game this season. He finished one shy of his career high of six long-range buckets in a single game.

Meanwhile, senior forward Nigel Hayes registered 15 points and Brown had 12 to help Wisconsin to its third straight win against Ohio State.

Sophomore guard JaQuan Lyle scored a team-high 13 points for Ohio State, which never got closer than 20 points in the closing 20 minutes.

Junior guard Kam Williams contributed 12 points and junior forward Trevor Thompson finished with 11 points and nine rebounds for the Buckeyes.

The Badgers (14-3, 3-1 Big Ten) shot 49.3 percent from the field and Ohio State (10-7, 0-4) made 39.6 percent of its shots from the floor.

Koenig scored 15 first-half points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field, including 3 of 4 from beyond the arc, and made two free throws to boost the Badgers to a 45-27 lead at the break.

Koenig, who is shooting 39.5 percent (47 of 119) from long range this season, said he was trying to be more aggressive against the Buckeyes.

"It's something I've kind of been trying to find a balance with all year, my whole career, actually of when to be aggressive, not to be aggressive," Koenig said.

"I missed my first three shots and got down on myself a little bit. But I just tried to not fall into that trap of deferring, but I stayed on the attack and stayed aggressive."

Ohio State shot 36 percent (9 of 25) from the field and 7 of 8 from the free-throw line in the first half. The Buckeyes went without a basket for 5:32 in the first half.

Lyle scored 10 first-half points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor and Thompson added eight points for Ohio State.

Brown extended Wisconsin's lead to 51-27 on back-to-back 3-point baskets to open the second half.

The perimeter success for Wisconsin came four days after a 2-of-14 showing from 3-point range in a 66-55 loss at Purdue. Koenig was 1-of-4 in the setback.

Matta was hopeful the futility would continue against the Buckeyes in Madison.

"I was watching the Purdue game and thought: 'What's the chance they shoot like this against us.' It's proven we're a get-well card for teams shooting the basketball.

"I counted we've had seven banked in 3s against us this season. It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen."

Matta said the Buckeyes had some good looks on offense in the first half, but couldn't get attempts to fall. He also was frustrated with Ohio State's rebounding effort. Wisconsin owned a 44-31 advantage in rebounding, including a season-high 21 offensive rebounds.

The Badgers scored 28 second-chance points, compared to Ohio State's nine points.

NOTES: Wisconsin senior F Nigel Hayes and sophomore F Ethan Happ were selected to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 list on Wednesday. The list will be trimmed to 20 players next month and a final ballot will be released in March. The winner will be announced in April. ... Wisconsin has won the last three games in the series against Ohio State. ... The Badgers have won 16 straight games on their home court. ... Ohio State owns a 2-9 record in Madison under coach Thad Matta.