Marcus Carr nearly earned Minnesota's first triple-double in 44 years as Minnesota led from start to finish during a 70-52 Big Ten victory over Wisconsin on Wednesday night in Minneapolis.

Carr stacked up 12 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists as he approached the first triple-double for the Golden Gophers (12-10, 6-6) since center Mychal Thompson against Ohio State in 1976. Daniel Oturu notched his 12th double-double of the year with 17 points, 14 rebounds and 4 blocks while Payton Willis scored a career-high 21 points.

Wisconsin (13-10, 6-6) failed to build on Saturday's upset of Michigan State as the Badgers shot just 28.4 percent from the field. Nate Reuvers led the Badgers with 14 points while Micah Potter came off the bench to contribute 11 points and 15 rebounds - his third career double-double.

After managing just 51 points in their last game - an 8-point defeat Jan. 29 at Illinois -- the Golden Gophers scored on their first seven possessions to build a 16-8 lead four minutes into the night.

Wisconsin pulled within 18-16 on D'Mitrik Trice's jumper, but Willis answered with a jumper and his third 3-pointer of the half to push the lead to 23-16 at the 11:32 mark as Wisconsin never found a way to get closer.

Carr rattled home a 30-footer at the first-half horn to send the Minnesota faithful into overdrive, but the officials reviewed the replay and took it away. Nonetheless, the Gophers hit the locker room with a 45-32 lead - the most points Wisconsin has allowed in the first half this season.

The Gophers started the second half just as hot as the first.

Gabe Kalscheur swished a 3-pointer on the first possession and the 6-foot-10 Oturu followed by rattling home his own 3-pointer, which pushed their lead to 51-32 and forced Wisconsin to burn a timeout.

Wisconsin guard Brad Davison, the suburban Minneapolis native suspended for one game by the Big Ten for a flagrant foul, was booed by the crowd each time he touched the ball - and cheered when he missed all three of his shots from the field.

--Field Level Media