Wisconsin wasted no time putting its upset loss to Maryland in the rearview mirror.

Entering Thursday’s New Year’s Eve contest, the Badgers were coming off an unexpected loss to Maryland. It was the first conference loss of the season for Greg Gard’s squad who has looked strong early on.

On the other side, Minnesota was coming into the game after back-to-back upsets in B1G play. The Gophers beat Iowa and Michigan State in consecutive games and feeling strong.

Unfortunately for Minnesota, Wisconsin’s defense and inside presence was on display all game long. The Badgers won the battle in the paint, outscoring the Gophers 38-20 inside with Micah Potter leading the way. He scored 18 points with 11 rebounds for the double-double while adding two assists.

Potter was one of three Badgers to score in double figures with the team shooting 50.8% from the field. Wisconsin also shot 6-for-15 from three-point range.

Defensively, the Badgers suffocated Minnesota to 31.3% shooting from the floor. Most notably, Wisconsin limited Marcus Carr to 10 points on just 3-for-13 shooting from the floor. Carr was averaging 24 points per game heading into Thursday’s contest.

Minnesota will now move on and look to rebound against its fourth-straight ranked opponent in Sunday’s game against Ohio State. The Gophers are in the middle of a streak of seven straight games against ranked competition.

For Wisconsin, they will move on to face Penn State on Sunday. At 3-1 in the B1G, the Badgers look good early on in conference action.