March 6 (UPI) -- MADISON, Wis. -- Coach Greg Gard takes pride in No. 22 Wisconsin's defense, and the Badgers delivered a second-half crackdown to sweep the two-game season series with Minnesota.
Senior guard Bronson Koenig scored a game-high 17 points as Wisconsin defeated Minnesota 66-49 in the Big Ten regular-season finale for both teams on Sunday at the Kohl Center.
The Gophers, who scored 80 or more points in their last four games, shot 23.3 percent from the field in closing 20 minutes against Wisconsin. Minnesota's 49 points were its second-lowest total in a game this season. The team's 32.1 percent shooting was a season low.
"Those are the pillars and foundation of our program, what we do defensively," Gard said of the Badgers, who only gave up seven second-half field goals to the Gophers.
"It cures a lot of ills when the ball goes in, but I thought defensively, that was as good as we've been in a long time."
Koenig was 5 of 8 from 3-point range in 18 second-half minutes for the Badgers (24-8, 13-7 Big Ten), who got 12 points each from senior guard Zak Showalter and senior forward Nigel Hayes on the team's senior day.
Not only did the victory snap a three-game losing streak for the Badgers, it gave Wisconsin the No. 2 seed for the Big Ten tournament.
Wisconsin receives a double bye for the Big Ten tournament that begins Wednesday at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The Badgers will play Friday against the winner of the first-round game between Indiana and Iowa.
Junior guard Nate Mason scored 17 points for the Gophers (23-9, 11-8), whose eight-game winning streak was snapped. Minnesota holds the No. 4 seed in the tournament and also gets a double bye.
Freshman guard Amir Coffey registered 13 points for Minnesota.
Minnesota coach Richard Pitino said he was disappointed with the Gophers' execution on defense in allowing Wisconsin to finish 55.8 percent from beyond the arc, and 8 of 10 from 3-point range in the second half.
Pitino was quick to point out that the Minnesota hadn't lost since falling 85-78 to Maryland on Jan. 28, with a lineup that includes four freshmen and a transfer student.
"As much as I'm disappointed in the way we played in the second half, we're one of the best stories in the country, in my opinion," Pitino said of the Gophers, who lost five straight early in the Big Ten season. "I'm sure tomorrow I'll wake up and be proud, like I should be."
The Badgers got a spark on offense from their veterans to open the second half as Koenig, Hayes and Showalter drilled 3-pointers during a 10-0 run.
Freshman guard D'Mitrik Trice had a mini-run of his own with six straight points, including a four-point play, after he was fouled shooting a 3-pointer. Senior Vitto Brown delivered a dunk as Wisconsin continued its surge to 48-35 edge with 11:32 left.
Mason scored 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field to lift Minnesota to a 29-27 lead in the opening 20 minutes.
Coffey added seven points and four assists for the Gophers, who shot 42.3 percent from the field in the first half.
The Gophers cobbled together an 8-0 run early in the game, capped by a Mason jumper that extended Minnesota's lead to 14-8 with 12:38 left in the first half.
Meanwhile, the Badgers failed to score on six straight first-half possessions during a scoring drought that lasted four-plus minutes.
Wisconsin sophomore forward Ethan Happ delivered eight points, seven rebounds and three assists in the first half and capped an 11-4 run with a layup as the Badgers assumed the lead at 25-24 with 3:24 to go.
It didn't help Wisconsin that Koenig spent a majority of the first half on the bench with two fouls. Koenig, the team's scoring leader with a 14.1 points-per-game average, only played five minutes and didn't score in the opening half.
Cold shooting plagued the Gophers as they missed 1 of 8 shots from the field to open the second half, as the Badgers took control backed by a loud home crowd.
Koenig, who holds the program record for 3-pointers in a career with 247, said he was ready to make an impact in the second half. Sitting on the bench and spending time encouraging his teammates didn't hamper his confidence.
"My team needed me and I was going to let it fly, and that's what I did," Koenig said. "I air-balled a couple shots, but shooter's shoot and eventually they went in."
NOTES:
-- Wisconsin sophomore F Ethan Happ was named one of 15 finalists for the John R. Wooden National Player of the Year award on Saturday. The winner will be announced in April. Happ leads the Badgers in every statistical category, including scoring (14.9 points per game) and rebounding (8.5 rebounds per game).
-- Entering Sunday's game, the Badgers lost five of their last six games. The last time Wisconsin lost five of six in January and February was in 2014 -- the season when the team recovered to reach the NCAA Final Four.
-- Minnesota's eight-game winning streak entering Sunday's game was the Gophers' best since 1973, when Minnesota won nine straight during the Big Ten season.
