Nolan Winter had 19 points and 10 rebounds and Nick Boyd and Braeden Carrington added 12 points apiece as No. 24 Wisconsin rode a fast start to an 86-55 nonconference victory over Ball State on Tuesday night in Madison, Wisc.
Wisconsin (3-0) jumped out to a 30-8 lead midway through the first half and led 39-26 at the break. Winter jammed home a follow-up to cap a 17-3 run that put the Badgers up 65-36 with 10:24 remaining.
Winter, a 7-foot junior forward and one of two returning starters, hit 7 of 11 shots, including 2 of 3 from deep, in 20 minutes.
Austin Rapp added 11 points and Andrew Rohde 10 tallied for the Badgers.
Elmore James IV had 17 points for Ball State (2-1). Devon Barnes added 12 points and Mason Jones registered 11. Armoni Ziegler, who entered averaging a team-leading 16.5 points, managed just two points on two free throws, missing all three of his shots.
Wisconsin shot 50%, including 14 of 38 from three-point range. The Badgers also had a 45-25 advantage on the boards, including 15 offensive rebounds.
Wisconsin, which had nine turnovers in each of its first two games, committed an uncharacteristic 15 miscues, including 10 by the starters.
Wisconsin was in control from the start. The Badgers hit 6 of their first 12 shots, going in front 16-4 on a 3-pointer by Jack Janicki 4:44 into the contest.
The Badgers continued their early hot shooting, stretching the lead to 30-8 on Winter’s 3- pointer from the top with just under 11 minutes remaining in the half.
Ball State used an 8-0 run to get within 32-18 as Wisconsin hit just 1 of 9 shots over that stretch with four turnovers.
The Cardinals scored the final five points of the half to cut the lead to 39-26 as Wisconsin hit just three of its final 15 shots, including 1 of 12 beyond the arc.
