MADISON, Wis. - Brian Butch added the exclamation point to the lesson 25th-ranked Wisconsin taught the Iowa basketball team on Saturday.

The Badgers' big man scored a game-high 22 points to lead his team to a 64-51 Big Ten Conference win at the Kohl Center, finishing strong to finish off the Hawkeyes.

Wisconsin beat Iowa by demonstrating the poise and patience that first-year Hawkeye coach Todd Lickliter has been trying to convince his team to seize as its own objectives.

The Badgers turned the ball over just seven times, turned 11 offensive rebounds into 14 second-chance points and worked the shot clock with precision to claim their sixth straight victory.

"You could see where their extra passes got them the shot they needed or caught us in a bad position defensively where we fouled," Iowa guard Justin Johnson said.

"Their focus, it was a little better. We need to listen to coach a little more and not take the bad shots we took because they came back to cost us."

Many of those errant shots came in the second half, shortly after a basket by Cyrus Tate had erased the remnants of the Badgers' 28-22 halftime lead and tied the score at 28-28 with 17 minutes, 24 seconds remaining.

Iowa hit just one field goal over the next 9 minutes - a stretch which mirrored a similar 7-minute slump in the first half.

"We put ourselves in a good position and Wisconsin is really good, but we took some ill-advised shots. We got anxious and took shots we cannot make," Lickliter said.

"You get anxious that way and so often the things that put you in a good position, you get away from doing those things. That is exactly what happened to us."

The Badgers seized the opportunity, using a 3-pointer by Trevon Hughes to spark a 17-4 run which left Iowa with a 45-32 deficit with 8:25 remaining.

By then, Wisconsin had repeatedly worked the shot clock inside of 10 seconds, frequently finding Butch or Joe Krabbenhoft open inside. The pair combined for 20 of their 34 points after the break.

"We didn't do a good job of getting the ball down low in the first half and when we did, we didn't connect," said Butch, who hit all four of his field-goal attempts and went 5-of-8 at the line in the second half. "In the second half, we finished and that made the difference."

Iowa came no closer than nine points in the final 11 minutes, in part because the Badgers (12-2, 2-0 Big Ten) converted on 12 of 18 free throws down the stretch.

"If you cut hard and they're grabbing you, they have to foul to stop you and coach told us to keep executing, keep pushing it because if we did that good things would happen," Krabbenhoft said. "That's the way it worked out."

The second half only added to the frustration of the Hawkeyes (7-8, 0-2).

"I don't want moral victories. I want actual victories," Iowa guard Tony Freeman said. "We have to keep fighting and stick to the basics. We got away from the things we were doing well and it cost us."

After hitting on nine of 17 first-half shots, the Hawkeyes followed their 53-percent start with 35.7-percent shooting in the second half. A 7-of-14 touch at the line only added to Iowa's issues.

"We were doing the opposite of what Coach Lickliter wants us to do - take care of the ball and play great defense. That has to change," said Johnson, who led Iowa with 13 points but hit all three of his 3-point shots in the first half before Krabbenhoft was reassigned to quiet the hot-shooting Hawkeye.

"The encouraging thing is that we can stick with good teams, but that's not good enough so we know we have to get better."

Contact Steve Batterson at (563) 383-2290 or sbatterson@qctimes.com

Iowa items

- Wisconsin helped itself by hitting 19-of-27 free throws, easily topping the 7-of-15 game Iowa had at the line. The effort came three days after Indiana hit 23-of-32 free throws against the Hawkeyes, who have been outscored 42-22 at the line through two Big Ten games.

:'I don't know how to explain it. We just haven't been in good position when we need to be and that's when the free throws pile up like that," guard Tony Freeman said.

- Coming off of what appeared to be a fairly severe right ankle sprain Wednesday, Jake Kelly surprised even himself by playing 27 minutes Saturday.

"I didn't have any problems. (Iowa assistant athletic trainer John) Streif did a good job of getting me ready. Wednesday night, I couldn't put any weight on it at all," said Kelly, still walking with the help of a boot following a game he finished with three points in before fouling out.

- Iowa is 0-2 in Big Ten play for the second time in four years.

- The Hawkeyes return to the road on Wednesday, visiting Ohio State at 6 p.m.

Iowa Mn FG-A FT-A Rb As PF TP

Tate 33 3-8 2-6 8 1 4 8

Gorney 26 0-3 0-0 5 1 3 0

Freeman 28 3-7 1-3 3 3 2 8

Johnson 31 4-8 2-2 4 0 5 13

Kelly 27 1-3 0-0 1 3 5 3

Angle 21 3-6 0-0 3 2 2 7

Peterson 25 3-7 2-3 2 2 4 8

Looby 9 2-3 0-1 2 0 2 4

Team 3

Totals 200 19-45 7-15 31 12 27 51

Wisconsin Mn FG-A FT-A Rb As PF TP

Landry 32 1-8 3-4 6 2 2 5

Butch 25 7-12 8-11 7 1 1 22

Hughes 33 2-8 0-1 3 2 3 6

Flowers 37 4-6 1-1 4 2 2 10

Krabbenhoft 35 3-5 6-8 7 1 1 12

Bohannon 19 1-6 0-0 3 0 3 2

Leuer 14 2-3 1-2 1 1 1 7

Stiemsma 4 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0

Gullikson 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0

Team 3

Totals 200 20-49 19-27 34 9 14 64

Iowa 22 29 - 51

Wisconsin 28 36 - 64

3-point goals - Iowa 6-17 (Johnson 3-5, Kelly 1-1, Angle 1-3, Freeman 1-5, Peterson 0-3), Wisconsin 5-15 (Leuer 2-3, Hughes 2-4, Flowers 1-3, Bohannon 0-2, Butch 0-3). Turnovers - Iowa 14 (Peterson 5), Wisconsin 7 (seven with 1 each). Technical fouls - none.

Officials - Ed Hightower, J.D. Collins, Dan Chrisman. Att. - 17,190.