by MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Bronson Koenig scored 21 points, Ethan Happ had 12 points and 12 rebounds, and No. 17 Wisconsin rolled past Idaho State 78-44 on Wednesday night.
The Badgers (8-2) scored the first 10 points and opened up a 21-3 lead as the Bengals (1-8) could only muster a single 3-pointer in the opening 11 1/2 minutes. Wisconsin led 35-16 at halftime.
Nigel Hayes added 11 points for the Badgers, who had a 44-14 edge in points in the paint and outscored Idaho State 23-5 in points off turnovers. Wisconsin won its fourth straight game.
The Badgers held Bengals leading scorer Ethan Telfair (19.8 ppg) to two points on 1-of-9 shooting, with his only basket coming with 5:57 left in the game.
It was the second game this season the senior guard did not score at least 10 points after failing to reach double figures in only two games last season.
Balint Mocsan had 10 points to lead Idaho State, which was outrebounded 47-21.
The Badgers were coming off a stretch of four games that included three against teams that played in last season’s Final Four, and they showed no signs of a letdown against the outgunned Bengals. No starter played more than 25 minutes as Wisconsin used a 10-man rotation for most of the game.
Up next, Wisconsin will face two in-state rivals, playing at Marquette on Saturday and hosting Green Bay on Dec. 14, before a break for final exams.
