Jan. 19, 2008

Box Score |  AP Gallery 

MADISON, Wis. - Northwestern hung tight with 17th-ranked Wisconsin throughout, but an early second-half run by the Badgers proved to be the difference in UW's 62-50 victory Saturday evening at the Kohl Center.

Michael Thompson scored a team-high 16 points and handed out five assists for the Wildcats (6-9, 0-5). Marcus Landry posted a game-best 21 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor and 9-of-10 from the free throw line for Wisconsin (15-2, 5-0).

Northwestern controlled the tempo throughout the first half and found itself down by only two at 22-20 at the break. The largest advantage for either team in the half was four points by the Badgers on three separate occasions.

The Wildcats were able to hang close despite being whistled for 12 fouls over the opening 20 minutes of play compared to five for Wisconsin. The discrepancy led to the Badgers attempting 10 free throws in the half to none for NU.

The difference in the game proved to be the opening seven minutes of the second half as Wisconsin come out of the intermission with a 13-2 run to stretch its lead to 35-22.

A modest 10-5 spurt got the Wildcats back to within eight on a 3-pointer by Sterling Williams with 8:28 to go. NU continued to hang tight throughout the remainder of the contest but was unable to make a run to push it over the top.

Wisconsin finished the contest with 24 made free throws in 37 attempts compared to 10 of 13 for Northwestern, which was guilty of 30 fouls to only 16 for the Badgers.

UW finished the game shooting 48.6 percent (17-35) from the floor, including 55.6 percent in the second half, to 41.9 percent for the Wildcats (18-43). Northwestern was able to hold Trevon Hughes, Wisconsin's leading scorer, without a field goal and just six points, all coming on free throws late in the contest.

Joe Krabbenhoft contributed 13 points and a game-high nine boards for the Badgers, while Jason Okrzesik came off the bench to score nine points for Northwestern.

The Wildcats return to action at 8 p.m. Thursday when it hosts No. 11 Michigan State at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The contest will be televised live by ESPN2.