Wisconsin 81, Cal 56: Badgers Cruise by Sloppy Bears

Wisconsin forced Cal into 23 turnovers and also received a season-high 22 points from Ben Brust as well as a stellar all-around effort from Mike Bruesewitz.

Wisconsin 81, California 56: Box Score

FINAL: Wisconsin 81, Cal 56

In the aftermath of Wednesday's painful loss to Virginia, Wisconsin set forth a solid showing in Sunday afternoon's 81-56 win over the California Golden Bears at the Kohl Center. Ben Brust led the Badgers (5-3) with 2 points, while Jared Berggren added 18 and Ryan Evans scored 13. Berggren also nearly missed his first career double-double, finishing with eight rebounds.

Cal (6-1) boasts a sizable lineup that out-rebounded each of its first six opponents with an average of 41.0 per game, though Wisconsin finished with a 36-30 advantage in that area. Granted, the the Bears have not been tested nearly as much as the Badgers have; they've played CSU Bakersfield, Pepperdine, Denver, Drake, Georgia Tech and Pacific so far.

Mike Bruesewitz, who admitted displeasure with his play against Virginia, also tied for the team-high with eight rebounds. He added eight points -- all in the second half -- and five steals in one of his finer hustle efforts.

Wisconsin came out somewhat cold, taking four minutes to score until Brust nailed a three. That triggered a 19-4 run over the next six minutes. Overall, the Badgers shot 51.7 percent (30-of-58) from the field. They also reached the free throw line 25 times after getting there only five times against Virginia -- though they made just 14 (56 percent) of those free throws.

For Cal, Allen Crabbe -- the Pac-12's scoring leader with 22.0 points per game entering today -- led with 25 points. After Crabbe sunk two free throws at the 15:00 mark in the first half to give the Bears a 6-5 lead, Cal never led for the remainder of the game. Their biggest deficit was 29, at the 4:39 mark.

In addition to their rebounding difficulties, the Bears also committed 22 turnovers to the Badgers' 13.

Out of halftime, the Badgers quickly built a 9-0 run to lead 48-29 at the 15:01 mark.

Halftime: Wisconsin 37, Cal 24

In the aftermath of Wednesday's 60-54 painful loss to Virginia, Wisconsin set forth a solid first half Sunday afternoon at the Kohl Center. Thanks to 12 points by Ben Brust and 10 from Sam Dekker, the Badgers enter halftime with a 37-24 lead over the California Golden Bears.

Cal has a pretty sizable lineup that has out-rebounded each of its first six opponents with an average of 41.0 per game, though Wisconsin holds a slight 17-15 lead in that area. Granted, the the Bears have not been tested nearly as much as the Badgers have; they've played CSU Bakersfield, Pepperdine, Denver, Drake, Georgia Tech and Pacific so far.

Wisconsin came out somewhat cold, taking four minutes to score until Brust nailed a three. That triggered a 19-4 run over the next six minutes. The Badgers enter the break shooting 48.4 percent from the field (15-of-31) and 23.1 percent from 3-point range (23.1 percent). They've also reached the free throw line eight times already after getting there only five times against Virginia -- though they've made just half of those free throws.

Individually, Brust could be in line for his third double-double of the season with five rebounds supplementing this 12 points. Jared Berggren also has five rebounds and nine points.

For Cal, Allen Crabbe -- the Pac-12's scoring leader with 22.0 points per game entering today -- leads with 12 points. Justin Cobbs has five, while Tyrone Wallace leads with five rebounds. The Bears built an 8-0 run leading up to the 2:08 mark to draw closer after trailing by 19 at the 5:02 mark.

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