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Iowa defeats Wisconsin to advance to semifinals of B1G Tournament
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Iowa defeated Wisconsin 62-57 on Friday night to advance to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. The Hawkeyes will meet Illinois on Saturday afternoon.
The Badgers carried an eight point lead into halftime, but it slowly evaporated over the course of the next 10 minutes. Then, Greg Gard’s team disappeared in crunch time.
Wisconsin went over nine minutes — from 9:21 until 0:12 — without a field goal.
By the time D’Mitrik Trice ended the drought with a 3-pointer, it was too late. Iowa sank two ensuing free throw’s to make it a five point game, and Trice’s next 3-point attempt fell short.
Luka Garza was sensational in the first half and finished with 24 points for the game. But it was his teammates who stepped up in the second half. They scored 30 points after halftime after scoring just eight during the opening 20 minutes.
This was Iowa’s first win of the season without scoring at least 70 points. The Hawkeyes struggled mightily from 3-point range, making just 2-of-20 3-point attempts. Poor distance shooting has become a trend during the Big Ten Tournament, partially due to the odd sight lines at Lucas Oil Field House.
Tip-off for Iowa-Illinois will take place 25 minutes after Michigan-Ohio State (1 p.m. ET) on Saturday afternoon.
Spenser is the news manager at Saturday Road and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.