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BOX SCORE
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The table was set for Iowa's Dean Oliver.
It was Senior Day, the last home game of his career and he had not
one, but two chances, to save the Hawkeyes.
|  | | Wisconsin's Travon Davis drives past Iowa's Reggie Evans in the Badgers' win. |
Oliver, however, missed both shots in the final 29 seconds and
Wisconsin (No. 24 ESPN/USA Today, No. 22 AP) beat Iowa 59-57 in the Big Ten regular-season
finale on Saturday.
"They felt good when they left my hand," Oliver said. "It
just wasn't to be, I guess."
Kirk Penney scored 17 points, including two big free throws late
in the game, to save the Badgers.
"I just smiled and just relaxed. That's the situation I want to
be in," Penney said about his only attempts from the line in 37
minutes.
Wisconsin coach Brad Soderberg said Roy Boone's defense on
Oliver was one of the keys to the win.
"We needed to go to our trump card, which was our defense,"
Soderberg said. "I have to give credit to Roy. He kept Oliver in
front of him, without help."
Iowa coach Steve Alford liked his team's defense, too, except
toward the end.
"I thought we did some nice things on defense, but we still had
too many breakdowns," he said. "We couldn't get the one stop down
the stretch when we really needed it."
The Badgers (18-9, 9-7 Big Ten) broke a two-game losing streak
while handing the Hawkeyes (18-11, 7-9) their third consecutive
loss and damaging their NCAA tournament chances.
Oliver, a four-year starter, scored 18 points for Iowa, while
Glen Worley added 14 points and Reggie Evans had 13.
Wisconsin broke open a tight game, scoring nine of the first 11
points of the second half for a 37-30 lead, then expanded it to
50-39 on Penney's shot from the left corner at the 8:46 mark.
Oliver's three-point play pulled the Hawkeyes within 56-55 with
1:11 remaining. He could have given Iowa the lead with 29 seconds
left, but he missed a shot from the top of the key and Brody Boyd
fouled Penney with 22 seconds left.
Penney, a 70.6 percent free throw shooter, made both shots from
the line to extend Wisconsin's lead to 58-55.
Oliver had a chance to tie the game, but he missed a 3-point
attempt from the right wing with 12 seconds left.
Andy Kowske, who finished with nine points, was fouled on the
rebound. Kowske, a 53.6 percent free throw shooter, made one of two
to push Wisconsin's lead to 59-55.
Worley put back a missed jumper by Kyle Galloway with 1.4
seconds remaining to trim the Badgers' lead to two, but Wisconsin
inbounded the ball and Iowa did not get a chance to foul as the
horn sounded.
Neither team led by more than three points in the first 20
minutes during which there were 10 lead changes.
Evans' two free throws gave the Hawkeyes a 24-21 lead at the
3:24 mark, but a basket by Penney and a 3-pointer by Mike Kelley
gave the Badgers a 26-24 lead 1:43 before halftime.
Another basket by Penney made it a four-point lead for the
Badgers before Evans and Oliver each hit two free throws in the
final 45 seconds to tie the game 28-28.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Wisconsin Clubhouse
Iowa Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Wisconsin's Kirk Penney takes his man off the dribble for the bucket.
avi: 577 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Wisconsin's Andy Kowske knocks down the shot in the key.
avi: 773 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Iowa's Dean Oliver heats up from downtown in the first half.
avi: 838 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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