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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The Big Ten's best backcourt was baffled
and befuddled.
Mike Kelley and Travon Davis shut down Iowa's duo of Dean Oliver
and Luke Recker as Wisconsin (No. 18 ESPN/USA Today, No. 19 AP) beat the Hawkeyes (No. 16, No. 14) 67-54 victory Tuesday night.
|  | | Wisconsin's Roy Boone, right, steals a shot out of mid-air from Iowa's Dean Oliver. |
Oliver (14.1) and Recker (18.3) are usually good for 32 points a
game, but on Tuesday, Oliver was held to seven and Recker
six.
Shooting a combined 5-for-31, they matched their season low
output against Tennessee on Dec. 29, when Recker played sparingly
because of a sore knee. Moreover, Oliver, the league's premiere
point guard, didn't get a single assist.
After they couldn't score enough against them, Recker and Oliver
couldn't say enough about Kelley and Davis.
"He's a great defensive player," Recker said of Kelley. "He's
the best in the country. He gets great position, plays you strong
and anticipates you really well. He just makes it tough to score."
Oliver had similar praise for Davis, who replaced Roy Boone at
point guard.
"Davis did a great job containing me," Oliver said. "I felt
like I couldn't go to the hole on him because of his quickness."
Davis said he was aggressive because Boone was alongside him at
shooting guard, where he scored 18 ponts, and was willing to help
him out.
"They play great team defense," Oliver said. "If you beat
your man, they recover well and cover up for each other. They
played great team defense, which is something we didn't do. We
played terrible defense and that's why we lost."
Badgers coach Brad Soderberg said he was just glad to finally
have found a defender who can handle Oliver, a senior who has been
a Badgers nemesis.
"And the secret was Trevon was quicker than Oliver," Soderberg
said. "We've tried every other combination the last four years and
we've never seemed to get a good matchup."
Mark Vershaw also scored 18 points for the Badgers (11-4, 2-3
Big Ten), who made 29 of 35 free throws in winning for the ninth
consecutive time at the Kohl Center.
The Hawkeyes (14-3, 3-1) had a double-digit lead early and were
up 29-25 at halftime. But they were outscored 42-35 in a sordid
second half that included just three points and two rebounds from
Reggie Evans, who finished with 10 points and nine rebounds, well
below his averages of 14.9 points and 12.7 rebounds.
The game was decided at the line -- which is usually good news
for the sure-shooting Hawkeyes. Not this time. While Vershaw was
11-for-12 and Boone a perfect 9-for-9, the Hawkeyes shot just
12-for-20 from the free throw line.
Recker didn't score until his two free throws gave the quickly
fading Hawkeyes a 37-34 lead with 11:32 remaining.
But Recker, an 89 percent free-throw shooter, missed the front
end of two 1-and-1s and Boone's off-balance bank shot with 10:33
left gave the Badgers their first lead, 38-37.
"Luke doesn't usually miss free throws," said Iowa coach Steve
Alford, who lost to Wisconsin for just the second time in 12 games
as a player or coach. "I'm not saying it's on his shoulders, but
those were key misses."
Boone's four-point play at 9:17 made it 44-38, and the Hawkeyes
never recovered.
But Boone didn't mind letting Davis steal the defensive show.
"I knew he could guard the ball a little better than me because
Davis is quicker than me," Boone said.
And it could mean changes for the Badgers when they return from
a week off.
"What happened today has really got me thinking about some ways
to use Travon," Soderberg said. "I was very pleased with what he
did."
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Iowa Clubhouse
Wisconsin Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Roy Boone misses the 3-pointer, but hustles back to make the block.
avi: 1457 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Wisconsin's Travon Davis makes the steal then goes the other way for the easy two.
avi: 809 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Roy Boone gets a chance at a four-point-play as he is fouled while hitting the 3-pointer.
avi: 952 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Iowa's Sean Sonderleiter misses the easy dunk, but gets get a chance at redemption.
avi: 1223 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Luke Recker finds a cutting Duez Henderson for the reverse layup.
avi: 564 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Dean Oliver slashes through the Wisconsin defense for the hoop.
avi: 507 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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