OMAHA, Neb. _ Wisconsin's offense through two games resembles a doughnut.
The 11th-ranked Badgers have a huge hole in the middle because their inside game is almost nonexistent.
UW turned its first road test of the season into a 3-point shooting contest Tuesday night against No. 20 Creighton.
The result was an ugly 79-67 loss.
UW hit 8 of 25 3-pointers in the first half and 3 of 14 in the second half. The Badgers attempted just eight field goals in the first half and 24 overall.
Coupled with UW attempting 29 3-pointers in the opener, the Badgers in two games have taken 68 3s and 48 field goal attempts.
UW didn't attempt its first free throw until 5 minutes, 21 seconds remained in the game Tuesday, when Bronson Koenig hit two shots.
The Badgers (1-1) finished 4 of 5 from the line.
Koenig led UW with 21 points and Nigel Hayes added 16. Koenig hit 3 of 12 3-pointers and Hayes hit 3 of 8.
No other UW player scored in double figures.
Ethan Happ and Vitto Brown added seven points apiece for UW but both players had four turnovers apiece.
Guard Zak Showalter fouled out in the final minute and finished with seven points.
Guards Khyri Thomas scored 18 points, Maurice Watson Jr. added 17 and Marcus Foster had 15 to lead Creighton (2-0), which made 15 of 22 free-throw attempts, 8 of 16 3-pointers and 28 of 56 shots overall (50 percent).
Creighton blitzed UW with an 8-0 run in the first 1 minute, 22 seconds of the game as the Badgers appeared jittery.
UW settled in, started moving the ball and hitting open 3-pointers and gradually built a 26-20 lead with 8:06 left in the half after freshman D'Mitrik Trice and Hayes hit consecutive 3s.
UW went the final 6:41 of the half without Happ and Brown, each of whom had two fouls.
The result: UW started launching and missing 3-pointers at an alarming rate.
UW was 8 of 13 from 3-point range and 9 of 17 overall after Hayes' 3 pushed the lead to six points.
The Badgers closed the half 2 of 16 overall, including 0 of 12 from 3-point range.
They went scoreless for the final 4:40 after Koenig scored on a drive and that allowed Creighton to build a 33-30 lead.
UW's first-half shooting numbers were startling. The Badgers launched 33 shots, 25 of which were from 3-point range.
Neither team could build a commanding lead in the second half.
The Bluejays led by six early in the half but Happ scored inside, Showalter hit a 3-pointer and Brown hit a jumper to give UW a 39-38 lead with 17:17 left.
UW trailed by just 54-52 with 7:45 left, but Creighton took control with another burst, this time 9-0 over 1:10.
Junior forward Toby Hegner, of Berlin, Wis., sparked the run with a 3 from the corner with 7:19 left.
After a turnover by Koenig, Thomas scored on a drive and was fouled by Jordan Hill. He converted the three-point play for a 60-52 lead.
Happ then missed inside and Thomas buried a three in transition for a 63-52 lead with 6:35 left.
UW called a needed timeout to stem the tide.
The Badgers pulled within five points on a drive by Koenig with 1:22 left.
Koenig had a chance to pull UW within four points but missed a contested drive with a minute left.
Creighton's Watson Jr. was fouled with 58.4 seconds left and made both free throws for a 73-65 lead.
Game over.
