Jan. 02, 2016 USATSI Gallery 
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MADISON, Wis. - Despite 20 points from sophomore guard Mike Williams on 7-of-12 shooting, Rutgers (6-9, 0-2) fell to Wisconsin (9-6, 1-1) 79-57 in front of 17, 287 fans at the Kohl Center on Saturday afternoon. Senior guard Bishop Daniels added 11 points for the Scarlet Knights in their first Big Ten Conference road game of the season.
Wisconsin shot 53 percent, including 8-of-18 (44 percent) from behind the arc. Rutgers made 40 percent of its field goal attempts and 42 percent (5-of-12) from long distance.
The Badgers used their size advantage to establish a 37-25 buffer on the glass, which contributed to a 34-24 discrepancy in points in the paint and an 8-2 advantage in second chance point for UW.
Wisconsin took an early lead, using a 7-0 run to take a 10-4 advantage at the first media timeout. Rutgers responded with a 8-2 run of its own, keyed by a Daniels three-pointer and Greg Lewis three-point play to tie the score at 12-12. The Scarlet Knights forced five UW turnovers in the first eight minutes of action.
The home squad used another quick spurt to go ahead, answering back with a 13-2 run to go ahead 25-14 and force Rutgers to use a timeout. The Scarlet Knights fought back again, cutting the deficit to five points after making five out of seven shots in an 8-3 stretch. The Badgers would close the half strong, to take a 42-31 lead at intermission.
Rutgers shot well in the opening frame, making 44.8 percent from the field and 60 percent from long range. Wisconsin countered by shooting 56.3 percent, including five three-pointers.
The Scarlet Knights came out of the gates strong in the second half, opening the stanza with an 8-1 run to cut the Wisconsin lead to four at 43-39. The Badgers had a scoring drought of nearly four minutes in that stretch, as Rutgers defense prevented them from making any of their first seven shots in the frame.
After a timeout, Wisconsin started to find a rhythm, and used an 18-4 run to push its advantage to 63-45. Williams got hot late for the Scarlet Knights, scoring eight straight RU points, but Wisconsin countered with strong shooting, and finished off the victory.
Next up for Rutgers is a road game at Maryland on Wednesday. The contest tips off at 7 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
Postgame Notes
Mike Williams scored in double figures for the ninth time this season.
It was Williams second time this season with at least 20 points. He previously scored a career-high 25 points in a win over Central Arkansas.
Bishop Daniels scored in double figures for the sixth time this season.
Omari Grier scored nine points. He has scored 51 points in his last three games combined after scoring 41 in his first 11 games of the season.
Greg Lewis led the team with seven rebounds. He has averaged 9.2 rebounds per game over his last five games.
RU was perfect at the free-throw line (6-of-6).
Rutgers used the starting lineup of Bishop Daniels, Mike Williams, Omari Grier, D.J. Foreman and Greg Lewis for the first time this season.
Wisconsin now leads the all-time series 4-1. Rutgers' victory against UW came last season at the RAC, a 67-62 win over then No. 4 Wisconsin.
The crowd of 17, 287 was the largest that Rutgers has played in front of this season.
Postgame Quotes
Rutgers Head Coach Eddie Jordan
Opening statement:
"First of all, beautiful building, first time I've been here. Great crowd, great culture. I wish Greg (Gard) the best, he's the right man for the job. Good team, they share the ball, they're mature, good size, and that's what hurt us tonight. You know their size and different ways hurt you in ways not directly throwing it in the post and powering it to the rim, but we have to help in and when we help in we weren't quick enough to get back out to the shooters. They move the ball, they move themselves, and I was proud of my guys for having a good 30 minutes and then it cracked open because we sort of wore down with their size."
On getting beat by Zak Showalter despite the lack of size:
"It's an indirect result of size. We've got an undersized two man that we usually have already and a two playing a forward. We have a three man, Jonathan Laurent, who got hurt, he's a normal three but plays as our back-up five. Omari Grier is a power forward but would be a guard on most Division I teams, but because of our injury situation we have to play small and ultimately it indirectly size will hurt you. Nigel Hayes is posting up Mike Williams, come on you've got to give in and give some help and they move well enough that you just can't get out and contest a knockdown shooter like Showalter."
