MADISON, Wis. _ As his team prepared to face an Ohio State team that had lost its first three Big Ten games, Wisconsin coach Greg Gard insisted the Buckeyes were better than their record and a dangerous team.
"They've got good players," he said. "Very well coached. You just want to make sure that you play well. ... We just need to worry about ourselves and play better than what we did on Sunday at Purdue.
"We've seen already, up and down the league, it is a tough (road). You've got to make sure you are on point every single night."
Gard's players got that message.
The 18th-ranked Badgers were sharp early Thursday night, built a double-digit lead in the first 11-plus minutes and were never threatened afterward en route a 89-66 victory in front of a noisy crowd at the Kohl Center.
UW (14-3, 3-1 Big Ten) remained in a pack of five teams with just one loss in league play.
The Badgers rebounded from an 11-point loss Sunday at Purdue and have won 10 of their last 11 games.
Ohio State, which was 6-0 entering the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, continued its slide. The Buckeyes (10-7, 0-4) haven't won since Dec. 22, when they recorded a 79-77 home victory over UNC-Asheville.
"Like I told them, I really don't care about your psyche," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said before the game. "We've just got to play. We've got to play better and we've got to get the job done.
"We've played very solid basketball. But just some of the mental errors. ... We've got to get those corrected.
"We've got a long way to go. Let's play our best basketball."
The Buckeyes played some of their worst basketball of the season at times Thursday.
UW, which lost the rebound battle at Purdue, 34-22, dominated the Buckeyes on the glass and at times was outstanding on both ends of the court.
Led by Ethan Happ (four), Nigel Hayes (three) and Vitto Brown (two), UW grabbed 14 offensive rebounds on 23 missed shots in the first half. That led to 16 second-chance points and helped UW build a 45-27 lead.
Brown, who had just one rebound in 12 minutes at Purdue, set the tone with two offensive rebounds in the first 1 minute, 57 seconds.
Guard Bronson Koenig, limited to nine points and eight field-goal attempts at Purdue, vowed to be on the attack against Ohio State.
The senior drove hard to the basket early and scored 15 of his 21 points in the decisive first half.
Koenig scored inside early and then got open looks from the perimeter. He hit 3 of 4 3-pointers in the first half and finished 5 of 7 from beyond the arc and 7 of 11 overall.
Hayes scored 11 of his 15 points in the first half.
Guard Jordan Hill entered the night 3 of 16 from 3-point range and averaging 1.5 points per game. He hit 2 of 4 3-pointers in the opening half for six points and finished with eight points and two rebounds.
Brown, who had zero points, one rebound and two turnovers in 12 minutes at Purdue, was active Thursday. He hit 2 of 4 3-pointers and 5 of 9 shots overall and contributed 12 points, five rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes.
Happ missed all four of his free-throw attempts and finished with only six points. However, he grabbed 11 rebounds in 21 minutes to help UW win the rebound battle, 44-31.
UW won so easily that the Badgers' horrendous free-throw shooting _ 5 of 15 _ was an afterthought.
The Badgers hit 12 of 22 3-pointers (54.5 percent) and 36 of 73 shots overall (49.3 percent) as 11 players scored at least three points.
Ohio State didn't appear to have the firepower or resolve to wipe out an 18-point deficit in 20 minutes.
As if to hammer that point home, Brown hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the first 1:19 of the half to push the lead to 51-27.
All that remained was to see how large the lead would grow and for the UW players to give the crowd some highlights.
Zak Showalter and Khalil Iverson combined to do both with 11:13 remaining.
Iverson stole the ball from Mark Loving in the frontcourt and passed to Showalter on the right wing.
Showalter (four points) and Iverson (three points, six rebounds, two assists) came in on a 2-on-1 break and Showalter lofted a perfect pass with his left hand.
Iverson caught the ball near the rim and slammed it home.
The lead was 32 points, UW was back on track and the Buckeyes were headed toward the bottom of the Big Ten.
