Playing its first game in nine days, one might have expected No. 6 Wisconsin to look a little rusty against California. However, the Badgers (11-1) picked up right where they left off, defeating the Golden Bears (10-2) 68-56 Monday night at Haas Pavilion.
Sophomore forward Nigel Hayes scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead Wisconsin, his third double-double of the year and first since a 25-point, 11-rebound performance against Green Bay Nov. 19.
Junior forward Sam Dekker and senior forward Frank Kaminsky each chipped in 14 points as well for the Badgers, who have now won four straight games. They’ve also now won 11 of their first 12 games for the third time under head coach Bo Ryan.
UW jumped out to a 17-8 lead midway through the first half, but Cal scored eight straight points to cut the deficit to just one. However, the Badgers used a 15-4 run to take a 32-20 lead into halftime.
Wisconsin maintained control throughout the entirety of the second half, building the lead to as much as 19. The Golden Bears never got closer than nine points.
Junior guard Tyrone Wallace finished with 17 points and seven rebounds, and sophomore guard Jordan Mathews added 15 points as well to lead the way for Cal, who had its seven-game winning streak snapped. Before the loss to the Badgers, the Golden Bears had won 10 of their first 11 games for the first time since the 1959-'60 season under first-year head coach Cuonzo Martin, though their biggest win of the season came against a Syracuse team that has struggled and lost three of its last five.
Though Wallace went 8-16 from the floor for Cal, its other four starters combined to go just 9-31. As a team, the Golden Bears shot just 38.9 percent from the field, their third-lowest mark of the season.
The Badgers went just 43.6 percent from the floor, including going 3-11 from beyond the arc, but they made enough shots down the stretch to maintain a comfortable lead all the way to the end.
Wisconsin doesn’t play again until next Sunday, when it will play host to the Buffalo Bulls at the Kohl Center.
