Iowa men’s basketball drops road game to No. 24 Wisconsin, 84-71

MADISON, WI — Iowa men’s basketball (19-7, 9-7 Big Ten) played one of its more offensively efficient first halves in the first 20 minutes against the No. 24 Wisconsin Badgers (19-8, 11-5 Big Ten).

But a basketball game is 40 minutes long. And offense can only carry a team so far.

After taking a 1-point halftime lead on the road against Wisconsin, the Badgers used two 10-0 scoring runs in the second half to help propel them over the Hawkeyes in a 84-71 loss Sunday afternoon at Kohl Center .

“I didn’t think we did a good job defensively,” Iowa head coach Ben McCollum said. “I thought we were really poor at executing the scout. But part of that had to do with Wisconsin and what they do offensively. I was disappointed in our transition defense; disappointed in our ball screen coverage.”

Iowa has played three-straight ranked opponents, dropping two of the matchups over the eight-day span. The loss also puts the Hawkeyes at 1-6 against ranked opponents, with only three road wins this season.

Iowa’s only ranked win was against No. 9 Nebraska last week, in which its defense prevailed. In this matchup, Iowa’s inability to get stops — especially in the second half — forced the Hawkeyes to yield another Big Ten game.

“It’s very frustrating,” Bennett Stirtz said. “Because if you play super well on offense and you play poor defense, this is the result you’re going to get. It’s a reminder that we have to play well more than just on offense, especially on the road.”

The Hawkeyes had four players in double figures, led by Stirtz’s 23 points. Tate Sage recorded his first double-digit performance since scoring 17 against Rutgers on Jan. 20. Alvaro Folgueiras matched Sage’s 11 points, while Tavion Banks added 10 points.

Stirtz recorded 23, reaching at least 20 points for the ninth time in the last 10 games.

Iowa’s defense, however, couldn’t slow down Wisconsin’s Nick Boyd, who led all players with 27 points. Boyd reached double-digits in the first half, and picked up a double-double with 10 assists.

Nolan Winter, John Blackwell and Austin Rapp all reached double figures for the Badgers, with Winter contributing 18. Blackwell scored 13 points — scoring entirely in the second half — and Rapp added 14.

Wisconsin’s offense was held right at its average points per game, just the second time Iowa has allowed an opponent to reach its average this year.

“I feel like it all comes back to our shell, what we call our defense,” Sage said. “Playing defense together. Obviously, we’ve got to guard the ball, but also relying on our second and third defender to stop the ball as a unit.”

Three of Iowa’s four players in double figures reached the 10-point mark in the second half, but Wisconsin still out-scored the Hawkeyes 44-30 in the second half.

“It’s a tough reminder,” Stirtz said. “But we’ve got to swallow it and get better.”

With the only four games remaining in the regular season, the Hawkeyes sit in the final spot for a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament. Iowa returns to Caver-Hawkeye Arena on Wednesday night for a battle against Ohio State, currently sitting one spot behind Iowa, at 8 p.m.

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