Propelled by a euphoric crowd and yet another heroic performance from senior center Ethan Happ, Wisconsin (6-3 Big Ten, 14-6 overall) defeated Northwestern 62-46 (3-6 Big Ten, 12-8 overall) to win their third consecutive game Saturday. Happ scored the third triple-double in school history, his second of the year. In a victory similar to the early season successes, the Badgers took advantage of Happ’s all-around dominance, a strong defensive performance and hot three-point shooting to halt the Wildcats’ two-game winning streak.
Happ, who also earned a triple-double in early November against Coppin State, finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. He set the tone early, scoring or assisting on Wisconsin’s first 13 points of the game. He ended up responsible for 41 points — a total that nearly matched NW’s output for the entire game.
Sophomore guard D’Mitrik Trice regained the hot hand he enjoyed early in the year, knocking down four three-pointers and finishing with 18 points, including a 4-for-4 mark from the field in the first half. Fellow sophomore guard Brad Davison had 18 as well. The Badgers shot 48 percent from beyond the arc, including 6-for-10 in the first half.
Northwestern came in on a two-game road winning streak in the series but couldn’t find an answer to UW’s complete performance. The Wildcats only led for a total of 53 seconds after an Aaron Falzon triple gave them a 23-22 lead. Junior guard Brevin Pritzl answered, sparking a 14-2 run to end the first half, and the Badger never looked back.
No player reached double-digits for Northwestern as Anthony Gaines and Dererk Pardon each managed eight. The Wildcats shot an ugly 29.6 percent from the floor, converting only 16 of their 54 attempts (only 9-for-35 from inside the three-point arc and 3-for-14 inside the paint). This set a new season low, topping their previous worst 34.4 percent against Michigan State earlier this month.
UW now hits the road to take on a streaky Nebraska team, which is on a three-game skid following a loss to Ohio State, on Tuesday.
