by MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Senior guard Bronson Koenig (Ho-Chunk Nation) scored 17 points in his final home game, combining with D’Mitrik Trice to give No. 22 Wisconsin’s offense a second-half boost in a 66-49 victory over Minnesota on Sunday.
The Badgers (23-8, 12-6 Big Ten) secured the second seed in the conference tournament and got a sorely needed confidence boost to end the regular season after having lost five of their previous six games.
Nate Mason had 17 points for Minnesota (23-8, 11-7). The Golden Gophers had won eight straight.
Koenig hit five 3s in the second half, including baskets on three straight possessions with less than 3 minutes left. Trice had a four-point play after getting fouled on a 3-pointer with 12:24 left, before hitting a layup about 20 seconds later.
They helped ignite an 18-2 run over a six-minute stretch of the second half that gave Wisconsin a 13-point lead with 11:32 left.
The offense seemed to provide a spark on the other end of the floor, where the Badgers regularly contested Minnesota shots in the lane and hustled for loose balls.
Minnesota got as close as 51-45 with 6:20 left on Amir Coffey’s 3-pointer. But there were too many other missed opportunities for the Gophers, who shot just 7 of 30 in the second half (23 percent) and were outrebounded 24-17 in the period.
Minnesota led 29-27 at halftime, shooting 42 percent from the field and getting 11 points from Mason in the first half.
BIG PICTURE
Wisconsin: Trice, a freshman, ran the point for 15 minutes in the first half with starter Koenig on the bench with foul trouble. Trice had a couple shaky moments early, but found big man Ethan Happ inside for key buckets as the Badgers made a more concerted effort to get into the lane. … Among other seniors playing their final home games, Nigel Hayes had 12 points and six rebounds; Zak Showalter scored 12 points; and Vitto Brown had five points and six boards.
UP NEXT
Both teams head to the Big Ten Tournament.
