Balanced Wisconsin Badgers dispatch Chicago State 69-51

Nov 17, 2016; Madison, WI, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard D'Mitrik Trice (0) controls the ball as Chicago State Cougars guard Clemmlye Owens V (2) defends at the Kohl Center. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports

MADISON, Wis. -- Vitto Brown scored 12 points and Khalil Iverson added 11 as No. 9 Wisconsin beat Chicago State 69-51 on Thursday night.

Bronson Koenig added 10 points for Wisconsin (2-1), while Fred Sims scored 26 points to lead Chicago State (1-1).

The Badgers again struggled with their outside shooting after taking 39 3-point attempts, but hitting just 11 in Tuesday's loss to No. 22 Creighton.

The Badgers hit 5 of 19 from 3-point range on Thursday. But they had little trouble with the Cougars inside as they pulled away. They hit almost 54 percent of their two-point attempts.

The Cougars took an 8-0 lead in the opening minutes. But Wisconsin then held them scoreless for the next 9 minutes to go up 19-8. The Badgers pulled away from there.

BIG PICTURE

Chicago State: Hey, it's a paycheck. The Panthers went 4-28 last season, including 0-14 in the Western Athletic Conference. They were a tune up for a bigger, deeper and more talented team.

Wisconsin: It wasn't always pretty but Wisconsin played better inside than it did in Tuesday's loss and now moves onto bigger challenges.

UP NEXT

Chicago State: The Cougars travel to Oakland on Saturday as they play 14 of their 16 pre-conference games on the road. That includes two games next month in Nevada as part of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic.

Wisconsin: The Badgers will get some stiffer competition against No. 21 Tennessee on Monday in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational.