MADISON, Wis. – Northwestern trudged through the opening 16 minutes of Saturday’s game, committing turnovers and missing shots.

But during the final media timeout of the first half with 3:51 remaining, the Wildcats only trailed Wisconsin 21-18.

NU coach Bill Carmody said he was worried that his team’s chance had passed, and that Wisconsin would start to hit its shots.

Carmody’s worries came true.

After the timeout, Wisconsin embarked on a 13-2 run, and NU never recovered.

“I think we could have been up at that point, if we had taken advantage of some chances,” Carmody said. “(Wisconsin) just made plays. In 40 minutes of basketball, that’s what you have to do, and they did it (during the run).”

As the Badgers flourished during the nearly four-minute run, the Cats continued to struggle.

It was a run that was symbolic of the Cats’ day, as NU had three missed layups and committed two turnovers.

During a 23-second stretch, NU junior forward Bernard Cote misfired on a 3-point attempt, and on Wisconsin’s next possession, Badgers forward Marcus Landry hit a 3-pointer to increase the lead to 25-18.

Next time down the floor, Cote threw a bad pass that was intercepted by Wisconsin guard Kammron Taylor, who took the ball the length of the court for an open layup. The lead was up to nine, and the Cats were reeling.

“For us, the ball went in the basket and they were struggling,” Ryan said. “We knocked some shots down, and we were a little more patient.”

NU forward Vedran Vukusic hit a jumper to cut the lead to seven points, but the Badgers answered with an easy basket from junior forward Alando Tucker.

Down nine points, the Cats had a fast break opportunity, but junior swingman Tim Doyle misfired on an open layup. The Badgers made the Cats pay, as Ray Nixon drained a 3-pointer to push the lead back to double digits.

“Right before (the run) we went to a 1-3-1,” Carmody said. “We were getting a lot of deflections. But then at one point, the ball is on the ground, they pick it up and the guy hits a 3.”

Wisconsin increased the lead to 14 points on a fast-break layup from Tucker, after a turnover from Doyle.

NU guard Craig Moore ended Wisconsin’s run with a 3-pointer, but the damage had been done.

In the second half, NU was able to cut the lead to single digits, at one point pulling within seven, but the Cats were unable to erase the deficit created by the 13-2 run.

Reach Scott Duncan at [email protected].