3 quick takeaways from Wisconsin’s win over Iowa: Nick Boyd, have a day

The Wisconsin Badgers beat the Iowa Hawkeyes 84-71 at the Kohl Center on Sunday afternoon, using a big game from Nick Boyd to secure a crucial win that had big tournament projection implications.

After a loss earlier in the week to the Ohio State Buckeyes, the Badgers needed to regroup and bounce back at home. But they were facing an Iowa team that just upset the Nebraska Cornhuskers earlier this week.

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Nonetheless, Wisconsin got the job done in a competitive game and improved to 19-8 on the season, including 11-5 in Big Ten play.

Here are three quick takeaways from Wisconsin’s win over Iowa on Sunday.

Efficiency

Before the game, I said Wisconsin likely needed at least eight threes to get the win on Sunday, but reaching double-digits would be ideal. Well, the Badgers shot well from deep, hitting 10 of 24 (41.7 percent) of their threes, but it was their efficiency inside the arc that was more impressive.

The Badgers shot 53.8 percent from the field and were 18 of 28 (64.2 percent) on twos, using transition and their pick-and-rolls to generate good looks inside the arc.

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Wisconsin was an astounding 13 of 15 on layups, as Nolan Winter had 18 points on 8 of 11 from the field. The big was extremely efficient inside the arc with his touches, and his teammates did well to find him.

The Hawkeyes were shooting well from the field in the first half, hitting 56 percent of their shots and 45.5 percent of their threes, which was a big part of why they led by one at the break. Iowa was trending well for most of the second half as well, but the Badgers played better defensively and closed the game out strong.

Against a tough Hawkeyes defense, the Badgers did what they needed to do offensively with their usual formula: shots at the rim (18 of 28 on twos), shots from three (41.7 percent), and shots at the free throw line (18 of 20).

Big run

Before the game, I said that this game felt like the Michigan State game script with an elite defense that hounds the ball and an…

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Publish date : 2026-02-22 23:06:00

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