MINNEAPOLIS - The Gophers must have thought Alando Tucker and Kammron Taylor were back in town with the way Wisconsin jumped out to an early lead Sunday.
The Badgers took a quick 14-6 lead behind seven points each from sophomore guard Trevon Hughes and junior forward Marcus Landry and never looked back, defeating Minnesota 63-47 in front of a sold-out Williams Arena crowd.
Hughes finished with a game-high 20 points and the defense held the Gophers (3-5 Big Ten, 13-7 overall) to a season low 47 points. Wisconsin (8-1, 18-3) kept pace with Purdue and Indiana at the top of the Big Ten.
We've got to show what we got,"" Hughes said. ""We didn't really prove anything. We showed that we can play well as a team and play good defense and we got to keep doing that. We can't just be happy with where we're at now.""
While the Badgers' defense held its opponent under 50 points for the second consecutive game, it was the offense that looked unstoppable in the first half, led by the Tucker-Taylor-like duo of Landry and Hughes. The Badgers grabbed a 29-10 lead with just under nine minutes remaining in the first half and worked through a minor drought to retain a 39-23 advantage at the half.
But while Hughes and Landry scored the team's first 14 points, the team returned to its typical balanced scoring attack the rest of the way. Senior forward Brian Butch, who finished with 11 points, said the victory was just another case of solid team play.
""I think that really explains our team. We are a really unselfish team. No one tries to go out and get 30. It comes within the offense and we all play off each other,"" he said.
Landry tied Butch with 11 points, but they all came in the first half as the junior went 0-for-6 in the final 20 minutes. He was not the only one to go cold, however. After shooting 58 percent in the first half, UW shot only 37 percent and committed 12 turnovers in the second half.
""We can't get away with that,"" Butch said. ""The Indiana game we had a big lead and I think we let it slip away a little too much. We just got to keep playing hard and try and do the right things.""
Despite the struggles on offense in the second half, the defense continued to bear down. Minnesota shot only 36 percent on the game as Wisconsin held the Gophers' top three scorers to just 20 points.
""The defense is where we get it started because if our shots are not falling down you can always go back and play good defense,"" Hughes said.
The second-year guard nabbed six steals in 32 minutes of play leading to many scoring opportunities, including a rare dunk. Hughes hit six of his 11 shots and went 6-of-7 from the free throw line.
""He's much better than he was early in the year but that's what we figured,"" head coach Bo Ryan said. ""We figured that early in the year he was going to be tested in some areas by some teams and then tested in the conference. Trevon's improved.""
The Badgers continue their two-game road swing Wednesday at Iowa. The Hawkeyes are 2-2 at home in conference play with wins over Michigan State and Ohio State.
