Though the temperature outside in Evanston, Illinois dipped into the single digits, the Wisconsin offense was on fire Sunday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena, where the Badgers downed the Northwestern Wildcats 81-58.
Junior forward Sam Dekker and senior forward Frank Kaminsky scored 16 points apiece to pace a balanced offensive attack for Wisconsin (2-0 Big Ten, 14-1 overall), who has won 13 of its last 15 meetings with the Wildcats (1-1, 10-5).
Kaminsky, who grew up 34 miles from Evanston in Lisle, Illinois, added 10 rebounds, a career-high six assists and two steals as well for the Badgers. Sophomore forward Nigel Hayes added 10 points on 5-5 shooting and redshirt senior forward Duje Dukan chipped in a season-high 14 points off the bench.
As a team, the Badgers shot 52.6 percent from the field and made 12 3-pointers on the night, their most in a game this season.
Redshirt junior guard Tre Demps finished the game with 17 points, six rebounds and four assists for Northwestern, who upset Wisconsin last January at the Kohl Center in the previous meeting between these two teams. Freshman guard Bryant McIntosh added 13 points for the Wildcats.
The Badgers dominated Northwestern from the opening tip, storming out to a 30-13 lead within the game’s first 12 minutes and holding a 43-21 lead at the half. Dekker was especially big in the first half, hitting four 3-pointers and scoring 12 of Wisconsin’s first 25 points.
The Wildcats, who never got within 20 in the second half, were just 39.3 percent from the floor, including 4-14 from beyond the arc. They had entered the game on a four-game winning streak, including a win over Rutgers, their first win in a conference opener since the 2005-’06 season.
With the victory, the Badgers have now won their last seven games and are 14-1 for the third time under head coach Bo Ryan. The win was Ryan’s 158th in Big Ten play, tying him with Hall of Famer Walter Meanwell for the most in school history.
Wisconsin will play next Wednesday at 6 p.m., when it welcomes the Purdue Boilermakers into the Kohl Center.
