Wisconsin sophomore forward Dave Mader had career highs with 10 points and 28 playing minutes as the Badgers beat the Iowa Hawkeyes 64-56 Tuesday at the Kohl Center for Head Coach Bo Ryan's 400th career coaching win.
Mader was 5 for 8 shooting on the night, including a dunk in the second half that ignited the home crowd. He helped fill in for freshman forward Mike Wilkinson, who was in foul trouble for most of the game.
\It was my turn to step up,"" Mader said. ""I needed to step up and I did.""
""The thing about Dave was the hustle,"" Ryan said. ""We finally have him convinced that he's not going to get hurt. Self-esteem has to be earned and he's earning it.""
Freshman guard Devin Harris scored a game high 20 points, including four three pointers. Junior guard Kirk Penney and senior guard Travon Davis rounded out the four Badgers that scored in double figures.
Wisconsin started the game with a Harris three pointer and did not trail the entire half. The first half was nearly foul-free as only six free throws were taken by both teams combined. Iowa made it close at the end of the half with a 5-0 run to cut the Badgers' lead to 23-22.
The second half was a different story, as the Badgers at one point had a 14-5 run. Iowa saw its only lead of the game when Hawkeyes senior forward Reggie Evans dunked to give Iowa a one-point lead. The Badgers took the lead back for good when Penney scored his first two points of the game.
""In the second half, I think we let them shoot way too high of a percentage,"" Iowa Head Coach Steve Alford said. ""We didn't put together the stops that we had to.""
The Badgers played a solid defensive game, limiting Iowa's points in the paint and free throws. The team forced 18 Hawkeye turnovers. The Badgers also limited Iowa's leading scorers, Evans and senior guard Luke Recker, to 12 and 13 points respectively.
In playing well, the Badgers assisted Ryan in reaching his own milestone, his 400th win.
""It's really nice to have been around long enough to see so many young men that we've had a chance to work with get better, become better as people ... this is the only way I know how to repay people. You just do your job, and just try to do it as well as you can.""
The Badgers do not have a game this weekend and their final conference game of the season at home against the Michigan Wolverines is next Wednesday. The team looks to use the free weekend to their advantage.
""We still have a lot of areas to improve in,"" Ryan said. ""We're going to use this time to physically get some of the nicks taken care of.""
""I think it's a great opportunity for us to get a little rest, heal up our nicks and bruises, spend a little bit of time to focus on schoolwork ... and then we can get back into practice and work on the fundamentals,"" Davis said. ""I think it will work into our favor.\
