NCAA
Wisconsin 79, Iowa 74
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
IOWA CITY, Iowa–Frank Kaminsky poured in 21 points to lead four Wisconsin players in double figures during the Badgers’ 79-74 victory over Iowa on Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The game was back-and-forth during the final five minutes.
The Hawkeyes (19-7, in the 8-5 Big Ten) didn’t hit a field goal in the final minute, going cold after junior Josh Oglesby gave Iowa a 72-71 lead with 1:02 left.
From there, the Hawkeyes had a turnover and an air ball on a 3-point shot by senior forward Zach McCabe.
Meanwhile, Kaminsky did everything for the Badgers (22-5, 9-5).
Kasminsky beat Gabe Olesani on a lay-up to give Wisconsin a 73-72 lead with 37.1 seconds left. He gave the Badgers a 75-72 lead with two free throws with 24.5 seconds.
On the previous possession, when Iowa called a timeout with 32.5 seconds left, Kaminsky stripped the ball from Devyn Marble of Iowa to force the foul.
Marble led Iowa with 21 points and 11 assists. Oglesby added 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor.
Sam Dekkar added 15 points and 11 boards for the Badgers.
Wisconsin jumped out to a 40-31 halftime lead, powered by freshman guard Bronson Koenig. He ended the half with 10 points, including 4-of- 5 from the field. The 10 points matched his career high against Bowling Green in November.
The Badgers hit 5-of-11 beyond from the 3-point arc in the first half and held Iowa to 2-of-8.
NOTES: Iowa coach Fran McCaffery jumped to the defense of senior Zach McCabe this week. A fan called into McCaffery’s radio show, prefaced his statement with the fact that he was a “big Hawk fan” and then proceeded to take a dig at the senior forward. McCaffery called the comments “out of line” during the show. … Iowa and Indiana were scheduled to play Feb. 18 at Assembly Hall, but a 50-pound piece of metal facing fell from a corner and crushed several sets in the arena’s lower bowl. The game was postponed indefinitely. Friday, the players learned they will play Indiana on Feb. 27 at Assembly Hall, which was deemed safe enough to host a men’s basketball game. Iowa’s game against Purdue, originally scheduled for March 1, was pushed back to March 2.
Iowa preferred to play on Feb. 19 and move the game to Indianapolis, but logistics prevented the shift, McCaffery said. … Wisconsin is enjoying its best offensive season in 19 years and best under coach Bo Ryan, averaging 73.3 points a game. That’s an 8.3 rise from 2012-13. That Badgers also are second in the nation in offensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com, with an average of 1.19 points per possession.
