MADISON, Wis. — Ben Brust and Jared Berggren each scored 15 points as No. 20 Wisconsin routed No. 13 Ohio State 71-49 on Sunday.
Sam Dekker came off the bench to score 13 for Wisconsin (18-8, 9-4 Big Ten), while Traevon Jackson added 10.
DeShaun Thomas led the Buckeyes (18-7, 8-5) with 18 points, and Sam Thompson had 10.
The win kept Wisconsin tied with Michigan for third in the conference, two games behind leaders Indiana and Michigan State. Ohio State dropped into fifth place.
Wisconsin put Ohio State in a hole early and never let the Buckeyes climb out of it.
The Badgers took control with an 18-0 run in the first half that lasted more than 7 minutes and put them up 24-6. Wisconsin led by as many as 26 in the second half.
While the Badgers were a model of efficiency on offense, the Buckeyes started the game 3 for 18 and could not get into a rhythm.
Wisconsin built its first 20-point lead at 34-14 on Dekker's 3-pointer with less than 4 minutes to go in the first half and went into the break up 39-22.
The 17-point halftime deficit was Ohio State's largest since March 22, 2007, when it trailed Tennessee by the same margin but went on to win 85-84.
For Wisconsin, the 39 first-half points tied its best opening period in Big Ten play and were only 10 fewer than the Badgers scored for the entire game at Ohio State in a Jan. 29 loss.
Wisconsin's offensive output was also a turnaround from Thursday, when the Badgers went scoreless over the final 5 minutes in regulation and then managed just four points in overtime while losing at Minnesota.
The Badgers shot almost 53 percent for the game while the Buckeyes hit less than 38 percent of their shots, including 3 of 12 from 3-point range.
Ohio State also had only six assists compared to 16 for the Badgers.
