Minnesota 81, No. 8 Wisconsin 68: Maurice Walker recorded career highs with 18 points and nine rebounds as the Golden Gophers handed the visiting Badgers their third straight defeat.

DeAndre Mathieu contributed 13 of his 18 points in the second half and Malik Smith had 14 for Minnesota (15-5, 4-3 Big Ten). Austin Hollins scored all 11 of his points in the final 20 minutes for the Golden Gophers, who lost leading scorer Andre Hollins early in the game with an ankle injury.

Sam Dekker led the way with 20 points for Wisconsin (16-3, 3-3), which was outrebounded 32-22 and allowed Minnesota to shoot 58.9 percent from the field. Nigel Hayes came off the bench to add 12 points for the Badgers, who made only 5-of-20 from 3-point range.

Walker made 6-of-8 from the field for 14 points as Minnesota led by as much as eight in the first half and settled for a 34-28 edge at intermission. The Golden Gophers shot 51.7 percent and had a 21-13 edge on the boards in the opening 20 minutes.

Wisconsin continued to struggle on the offensive end and Smith’s three-point play with just over 13 minutes left pushed Minnesota’s lead to 12. The Badgers got within seven with less than five minutes remaining, but Smith and Joey King followed with baskets and the Golden Gophers had the cushion they needed.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Minnesota has won 27 out of 30 games at home - 10-3 in Big Ten action - since the beginning of last season. … Wisconsin’s streak of scoring at least 70 points in a game ended at nine. … The play of the night came with 5:54 left in the contest when Austin Hollins flew in from the right side of the lane to deliver a one-handed slam dunk.