Northwestern Topples No. 7 Wisconsin in Madison

2/12/2017 7:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Highlights Collins/McIntosh Postgame Box Score (PDF)Law/Lumpkin/Pardon Postgame

McIntosh leads the way with 25 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists

MADISON, Wis. -- Bryant McIntosh posted 25 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists and Northwestern got a signature win Sunday night at Kohl Center, taking down No. 7/5 Wisconsin 66-59.

Dererk Pardon added 11 points and 8 rebounds while Vic Law added 11 points while limiting Badger guard Bronson Koenig to 2 points on 1-of-8 shooting from the field.

Northwestern is next in action at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15 against Maryland. All other home games are sold out, meaning the Maryland game is the last chance to buy tickets to see these #B1GCats at Welsh-Ryan Arena this season!

BUY TICKETS TO NORTHWESTERN'S NEXT HOME GAME FEBRUARY 15 AGAINST MARYLAND!

NU, the Big Ten leader in field goal percentage defense, held Wisconsin to 38.0 percent shooting. The victory snaps the Badgers' 19-game home court winning streak.

The teams were tied 4-4 early on before the Badgers rattled off seven straight points, including 5 by Ethan Happ, to open up an 11-4 lead.

The Wildcats were cold from the field but still managed to close to within 14-10 with just under 11 minutes remaining in the opening stanza.

NU was just 5 of 18 from the floor before the Wildcats got things going on the offensive end. Trailing 19-12, a 3-pointer by Vic Law, a jumper by Bryant McIntosh and a basket in the paint by Dererk Pardon knotted the game.

After missing their first five shots from beyond the arch, Northwestern got red hot to open up a lead. A triple by Law gave NU its first lead before Nathan Taphorn nailed back-to-back treys, giving the Wildcats a 28-19 advantage, punctuating a 16-0 run.

A 3-pointer by Zak Showalter gave Wisconsin its first points in nearly five minutes, but McIntosh answered with one of his own to help Northwestern take a 31-22 lead into the intermission.

McIntosh paced the Wildcats with 11 first-half points while Law added 8 and NU forced 8 turnovers by the Badgers.

Unfortunately for Northwestern, the second half started similar to the first as Wisconsin hit the 'Cats with a 10-point run to go back in front 32-31.

As quickly as the Badgers hit the Wildcats, NU punched right back. After a Pardon free throw, Law hit a 3-pointer, Sanjay Lumpkin scored on a layup and Pardon hammered a putback dunk to put Northwestern up 39-32.

After a steal by Isiah Brown, he found McIntosh for a transition jumper which pushed the Wildcats' lead to 47-38 with 9:31 remaining.

Wisconsin trimmed the lead to four following a three-point play by Nigel Hayes, but a 3-pointer out of corner by Lumpkin pushed the lead right back to seven, 54-47, with 4:33 left.

Northwestern's defense came up clutch down the stretch to secure the victory. With the lead at six and 3:30 to go, NU got a miss by Hayes but the Badgers got an offensive round. After Hayes missed again, McIntosh scored on a tough runner, the Wildcats got a stop on the defensive end and Lumpkin converted a layup to make it 60-50 with 1:17 remaining.

Wisconsin closed back to within five, but McIntosh made four free throws down the stretch before Lumpkin punctuated the victory with a slam dunk.

Northwestern Notes vs. Wisconsin
Feb. 12, 2017
• At No. 7 in this week's Associated Press poll, Wisconsin is the highest-ranked opponent Northwestern has beaten since taking down No. 6 Michigan State 81-74 Jan. 14, 2012.
• The victory is Northwestern's fifth Big Ten road win of the season, one shy of the school record of six set during the 1930-31 season.
• Bryant McIntosh recorded 7 assists in the game raising his career total to 503. He is the second player in Northwestern history to record 500 career assists and trails only Michael Thompson who posted 528 from 2008-11.
• McIntosh posted a game-high 25 points, raising his career scoring total 1,156 which moved him up three spots to No. 23 on Northwestern's all-time scoring list.
• McIntosh has averaged 26.5 points per game in his last two meetings against Wisconsin. He scored 28 in last year's 70-65 win over the Badgers in Evanston.
• Senior forward Nathan Taphorn made his second career start Sunday and the first since his freshman season. He finished the contest with 6 points. Taphorn's only other career start came against UCLA on Nov. 29, 2013.
• Wisconsin had won 19 straight home games coming into play Sunday, the sixth-longest active streak in the nation. The Badgers also had won their last 11 Big Ten home games and their last 26 against unranked opponents.
• Northwestern outscored Wisconsin 26-12 in the paint. The Badgers had scored 274 more points than their opponents in the paint and had only been outscored in the paint by three opponents this season coming into action Sunday.
• The win snaps Wisconsin's eight-game winning streak.
• Junior guard Scottie Lindsey missed his third consecutive game due to illness. Lindsey is Northwestern's leading scorer at 15.4 points per game.