Nick Boyd excels as No. 24 Wisconsin defeats Iowa
Nick Boyd registered game highs of 27 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds and Nolan Winter scored 18 points to lift No. 24 Wisconsin to an 84-71 victory against visiting Iowa on Sunday in Madison, Wis.
Wisconsin (19-8, 11-5 Big Ten) won for the third time in four games while shooting 53.8%. That included a 10-for-24 effort from long range. Austin Rapp connected on 4-of-5 attempts from deep to finish with 14 points.
Bennett Stirtz paced Iowa with 23 points for the Hawkeyes, who lost for the third time in four games.
Wisconsin made five of its first eight shots in the second half while seizing momentum with an 11-0 run over 2:33 in which four different Badgers scored.
Iowa (19-8, 9-7) drew within three points on a Stirtz layup with 6:15 to go but Wisconsin pulled away with a 10-0 spurt over the next two-plus minutes. Rapp hit two treys during the surge and Boyd punctuated it with a layup that put the Badgers ahead by 13.
Boyd finished one rebound shy of a triple-double. His 10 assists marked a career high. John Blackwell had 13 points for the Badgers.
Iowa shot 47.5% and had four scorers in double figures. Alvaro Folgueiras and Tate Sage contributed 11 points each while Tavion Banks added 10.
Cam Manyawu grabbed seven rebounds for the Hawkeyes.
Iowa took a 41-40 lead into halftime behind 12 points from Stirtz and a 56% showing from the floor. The Hawkeyes surrendered the first points of the game on a Winter dunk before responding with an alley-oop from Kael Combs to Banks that sparked them to a fast start.
Stirtz drilled a 3-pointer at the 15:02 mark to give Iowa its largest lead at 17-8. Wisconsin, which shot 53.6% before the break, regrouped as Boyd (15 points) and Winter (14) led the way.
Rapp hit a pair of 3s to help Wisconsin dig out of its early hole. Rapp missed Tuesday's loss at Ohio State with an illness.
The Hawkeyes and Badgers shot a combined 11-for-26 from long range in the first half while committing just seven collective turnovers.