Madison, WI – The 20th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers continued their success against top-15 teams this season with a 71-49 victory over the 13th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday.
Ben Brust had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Badgers (18-8, 9-4 Big Ten), who have now defeated five top-15 teams this season (Indiana, Michigan, Illinois and Minnesota).
"He likes to compete. He still feels in life that he has something to prove. I love those kinds of guys," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said of Brust. "Ohio State has several. He works hard, he has a great nose for the ball on rebounding, especially defensive rebounding. I know he had one put-back on an offensive rebound too."
Jared Berggren tallied 15 points, eight boards and four blocks for Wisconsin, which had played three straight overtime games that included a loss to Minnesota on Thursday. Sam Dekker and Traevon Jackson donated 13 and 10 points, respectively.
The Badgers avenged a 58-49 loss to Ohio State on Jan. 29.
Deshaun Thomas ended with 18 points and six rebounds for the Buckeyes (18-7, 8-5), who have lost three of four. Sam Thompson added 10 points.
"This is a team you have played before, this is a team you just played two weeks ago and the familiarity that you have in terms of what they are trying to do and how they are trying to do it. We won't forget this basketball game," said Ohio State coach Thad Matta.
It didn't take long for Wisconsin to build a big lead. With the score tied at six, the Badgers went on a 21-2 run. Brust made a trio of 3-pointers during the surge that Dekker capped with a three for a 27-8 margin with 8:36 left.
Dekker added another 3-pointer with 3:46 remaining to extend Wisconsin's lead to 34-14. It was 39-22 at the break.
The Badgers shot 59.3 percent from the field in the first half, while holding Ohio State to 32.3 percent.
The Buckeyes actually got off to a good start in the second half. Mike Bruesewitz grabbed Thompson as he went up for a layup. Thompson made the shot and Bruesewitz was called for an intentional foul. After missing the ensuing free throw, Thompson made a jumper to cut the gap to 39-26.
Jackson responded with four straight points of his own to swing the momentum back in Wisconsin's favor. The Badgers cruised to victory from there.
Game Notes
Ohio State leads the all-time series by an 84-67 margin ... The Buckeyes were held to their lowest point total in a half this season with 22 points in the first half of play ... Wisconsin shot 52.7 percent from the field and went 7- of-19 from beyond the arc, while Ohio State shot 37.5 percent and went 3-of-12 from three-point range.
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