Wisconsin Badgers had their best Big Ten win of the year on Friday night against Illinois. It looked like all of the things came together finally for this Wisconsin team and could be a shot in the arm for their Big Ten season. They had to go on the road again to play Iowa, who is in a similar spot as Wisconsin, yet things didn’t continue for Bucky. Iowa buried them from the opening tip-off to the final whistle of the game. Wisconsin suffered yet another kick to the face as the season from hell continues for the team.

Another slow start plagues Wisconsin
One thing that the Badgers cannot do is get off to slow starts. They’re not a team built to come back from double digits. Purdue, Marquette and now Iowa have all jumped out to big leads early on and never looked back. Iowa led 18-6 to start the game, and Wisconsin didn’t get to double-digits until the second part of the first half. Wisconsin does not have the three-point shooters or the up-tempo offense to come back against these teams. Additionally, they do not play good enough defense to string together multiple stops.

Charlie Thomas IV came out of nowhere
Greg Gard gave Charlie Thomas IV more minutes than he’s seen for most of the season, and he paid off his coach. Thomas IV gave Wisconsin good minutes with 10 points, five rebounds making all five of his shots. With Wisconsin not having a bench, Thomas IV should get a few more minutes in the next few games. He’s worth a continued look to see if this is a one-time thing or Thomas IV might come on strong to finish the year.

Ethan Happ struggles early on
Part of the reason why Wisconsin got off to a slow start was Happ struggled to start the game. Luke Garza had himself a day with 17 points but also did a great job at preventing Happ from being an attacker on offense early on. The Badgers star only had four points after 20 minutes, and that lack of supplemental scoring hurt the Badgers.

Next up
Things do not get easier for Wisconsin as they head to Michigan State on Friday night. Badgers have a good history with the Spartans over the last decade, but this could be an ugly one in East Lansing.