MADISON, Wis. _ Ethan Happ and Zak Showalter gave Wisconsin a winning combo Wednesday night at the Kohl Center, albeit one that was unexpected.
Happ played the role of point forward, twice leading the break for transition baskets and leading UW in assists. Showalter played the role of 3-point specialist and provided his usual solid defense.
The result: No. 14 UW overcame some sluggish stretches to put away UW-Green Bay, 73-59.
UW extended its winning streak to six games and improved its record to 10-2 with one game left before opening Big Ten play Dec. 27 against visiting Rutgers.
The Phoenix, picked third in the Horizon League preseason poll, saw its record fall to 4-6.
UW recorded 18 assists on 27 field goals and Happ led the way with six. He added 14 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season.
"I thought when we did move the ball we got what we wanted," UW coach Greg Gard said on the Big Ten Network broadcast after the game.
Showalter entered the night shooting just 28.6 percent from 3-point range (10 of 35) but hit his first three attempts against the Phoenix. He finished 4-of-6 from 3-point range and 6-of-10 overall for 16 points. Showalter added six of UW's 13 steals and five rebounds and helped shut down freshman guard Trevor Anderson.
Nigel Hayes' shot was off the mark early, but he finished strong and led UW with 24 points and five rebounds. Hayes made just 7 of 13 free throws but hit 8 of 15 field-goal attempts.
UW averaged 13.1 turnovers per game in its first eight games but trimmed that number to 8.0 per game in the next three.
"It's a combination of better decisions and execution has been better, too," UW assistant coach Lamont Paris said before the game.
The Badgers turned the ball over five times in the first half Wednesday night and finished with nine. That was a much better showing than the 26 turnovers UW committed in a five-point victory over the Phoenix last season. In addition, UW scored 22 points off 19 UW-Green Bay turnovers.
"We were doing a lot of things at that time that luckily we improved on," Paris said before the game. "We were surprised that we didn't handle the situation. Some of the decisions we were making were just uncharacteristic."
Junior forward Kerem Kanter scored 18 points for UW-Green Bay.
Guard Charles Cooper, UW-Green Bay's leading scorer at 13.6 points per game, finished with 10.
Anderson, No. 2 on the team in scoring at 12.1 points per game, hit just 1 of 6 shots and finished with three points.
UW-Green Bay entered the night averaging 25.4 free-throw attempts per game. The first attempt came with 17 minutes 10 seconds remaining in the game and the Phoenix finished 7 of 12.
Happ's versatility was on display in the first half.
The 6-foot-10 redshirt sophomore recorded eight points, six rebounds, three assists and a steal in 15 minutes.
Happ twice led the break and dished to Hayes and D'Mitrik Trice for baskets.
"How about the versatility displayed by Happ?" BTN analyst Shon Morris remarked during the telecast. "You get your hands on the basketball and then you lead the break."
UW was sluggish on offense early and trailed, 12-11, when Kanter hit a 3-pointer.
"They've been a step slow," Morris said.
The Badgers then went on a 14-2 run to build a 25-14 lead with 7:24 left.
Hayes hit 3 of 4 free-throw attempts and buried a 3-pointer and Showalter hit two 3-pointers to spark the run.
UW built the lead to 31-16 but went scoreless for the final 3:18 of the half and settled for a 31-21 lead.
The Phoenix pulled within seven points early in the second half but Hayes scored three points in a 9-2 run to help UW regain control.
