It was a 41-point second half outburst that led the No. 16 Badgers past Georgetown in Hawaii. Wisconsin led by just three at the break, but managed to outscore the Hoyas 41-28 to close out the 73-57 victory. With the win, Wisconsin moves on to face No. 4 North Carolina in the Maui Invitational championship game Wednesday night.
Bronson Koenig scored 20 points in 31 minutes of playing time and redshirt sophomore Ethan Happ scored 19, while collecting 15 rebounds to lead the Badgers. Despite shooting just 5-of-22 from three-point range, Wisconsin was able to take advantage inside by outscoring the Hoyas 38-16 in the paint.
They also held a 50-21 advantage on the boards, 20 of them coming on the offensive glass, resulting in 19 second-chance points.
Wisconsin also received strong second half efforts from senior forward Vitto Brown and sophomore Khalil Iverson, who combined for all 19 of their points after the half.
All of Brown’s nine points came from downtown and two of the three-pointers came after Georgetown was able to cut the Badger lead to single digits.
LJ Peak led the Hoyas with 18 points, while Rodney Pryor chipped in 14. Georgetown struggled from the field, shooting just 38 and 33 percent from deep.
No. 16 Wisconsin and No. 4 North Carolina is scheduled to tip at approximately 8:30 p.m. Wednesday night. The game can be heard live on WTCH AM 960 and 96.1 FM.