The Big Ten only had one game on Monday night, but it was a big one. Wisconsin went on the road to faced a ranked Iowa team and hoping to play as a spoiler. Unfortunately for Badger fans, Iowa would prove to be too much.

Let’s take a look at what happened.

Game of the Night:

-No. 18 Iowa Hawkeyes 68, Wisconsin Badgers 62

While Iowa was certainly favored heading into Monday night’s matchup between the Hawkeyes and Badgers, the game looked captivating on paper. Both teams had been playing relatively well and Wisconsin was desperate for a win after stumbling on the road against Purdue on Friday night.

And for virtually the entirety of the evening, the game lived up to the hype. Wisconsin fought very well in the first half and was in position to win the game in the closing minutes. However, a great close by Iowa propelled the Hawkeyes to the win. Luka Garza led the way with 21 points and 18 rebounds.

For Iowa, this was just the latest win in what has been a really impressive run over the last few weeks. The Hawkeyes are now 15-5 overall and have won five straight, including four wins over teams rated 32nd or higher on KenPom. The recent run has also pushed Iowa into the Big Ten title discussion and to 14th nationally on KenPom. If Iowa can keep this up, it could be quite a special season in Iowa City.

On the other side, Monday’s loss dropped Wisconsin to 12-9 overall and to just 5-5 in Big Ten play. The Badgers had been playing extremely well coming into the new year, but have faded a bit over the last week or so. Wisconsin has now lost three of four and is very much teetering on that NCAA Tournament bubble discussion. If the team is going to get things back on track and make a push, time is starting to run out.

Iowa will now prepare to go on the road and face Maryland on Thursday. Meanwhile, Wisconsin will get a few days off and host Michigan State at home on Saturday.