By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Tony Perkins finished Saturday’s game against Wisconsin much better than how he started, and that is a big reason Iowa edged the Badgers 88-86 in overtime, and before a sellout crowd at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Perkins, who was benched briefly early in the first half, made a short bank shot with 1.3 seconds left in overtime, and that would prove to be the difference as Iowa picked up its first Quad 1 win this season.

The Indianapolis native scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half and overtime, and he also had four rebounds and three assists while playing 36 minutes.

Iowa improved to 15-11 overall and 7-8 in the Big Ten, while the Badgers fell to 17-9 and 9-6 and have now lost five of their last six games.

Perkins also had chance to win the game in regulation, but he missed a shot in heavy traffic in the lane.

Iowa freshman forward Owen Freeman stayed out of foul trouble for the most part and was a force on both ends of the court as he finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and four blocks, all of which were team highs.

If there still were any doubt that the Big Ten’s best freshman plays for the Iowa Hawkeyes, there shouldn’t be now after what Freeman did against Wisconsin on Saturday.

“When he gets a little bit stronger, he’s going to be a major problem for opposing teams,” former Illinois guard Stephen Bardo said on the Big Ten Network broadcast.

Freeman already is a major problem for opposing teams and he is also now in position to win his program-record ninth Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor, which will be announced on Monday.

His eight freshman accolades currently rank second in Big Ten history behind the 12 that former Ohio State forward Jared Sullinger won.

Freeman did make one mistake, however, when he slammed the ball to the floor and was called for technical foul with Iowa leading 74-70 with 4:39 left to play.

However, the Badgers missed both free throw attempts, but they would gone to tie the score at 74 on a breakaway layup by Max Klesmit in which Perkins was called for goal-tending with 3:16 seconds left to play.

Freeman then answered with a basket to give Iowa a 76-74 lead, but the Badgers answered back with a basket to even the score.

Iowa was trailing 78-76 when Perkins made a layup in traffic with 42 seconds remaining.

Wisconsin called a timeout with 28.3 seconds remaining and with 14 seconds left on the shot clock.

That led to Badger guard Chuckie Hepburn missing a 3-point shot that was rebounded by Freeman with the score even at 78.

Freeman then passed to Perkins with about 12 second remaining and Perkins would go on to miss a heavily contested shot in the lane, pushing the game into overtime.

The overtime session was tied at 86 when Fran McCaffery called a timeout with eight seconds remaining.

Freeman had the ball at the top of the key when he started dribbling to his right against Hepburn.

Perkins then made a spin move near the basket and kept his dribble alive, but the ball was deflected by Hepburn.

However, Perkins regained possession and was wide open for a lay-up, which he made.

To say that Iowa needed this win would be an understatement.

Freeman explained the importance of the win by telling the media what Iowa senior forward Patrick McCaffery had said about it.

“Patrick said it’s like when you’re falling out of a plane and you need a parachute,” Freeman said. “It’s like that. We needed it.

“We knew the level that this game had and I feel like this can really give us a jump-start for the next couple games.

With the win, Iowa avoided being swept by the 20th-ranked Badgers, who won the first game this season 83-72 on Jan. 2 in Madison, Wisconsin.

Perkins started Saturday’s game much like his team did in that both performances left much to be desired.

He was benched briefly early in the game as Fran McCaffery appeared to be sending a message, and he only had two points at halftime.

But his teammates, especially Freeman and freshman point guard Brock Harding, helped to pick up in slack in the first half as Iowa trimmed a 13-point deficit to four at halftime.

Perkins then found his rhythm, and his shooting touch, in the second half and that would be key in Iowa pulling out the win.

Freeman and sophomore guard Josh Dix both played a season-high 38 minutes as Fran McCaffery shortened his rotation.

Junior forward Payton Sandfort also played 34 minutes and matched Perkins with 18 points, while Dix finished with 17 points and five rebounds.

This was a must-win for Iowa as it tries to stay within striking distance for a fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament postseason bid, and thanks to a nice blend of youth and experience, Fran McCaffery’s team found a way to win.

Wisconsin made 12 of its first 15 shots from the field and led by as many as 13 points in the first half.

But then Iowa started to chip away at the deficit late in the half and only trailed by four points (47-43) at halftime.

Brock Harding made a 3-point basket from near the top of the key that trimmed the deficit to 38-33 with 5:14 left in the first half.

Iowa had made five straight field goal attempts at that point, causing Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard to call a timeout.

The Badgers then responded out the break with a basket by AJ Storr, expanding the lead to 40-33 with under five minutes left in the half.

Iowa then outscored the Badgers 10-7 for the remainder of the half, thanks partly to Harding who scored six points and had two assists in the first half while playing eight minutes off the bench.

Wisconsin shot a blistering 58.6 percent from the field in the first half and assisted on 14 of its 17 baskets.

The Badgers also committed just two turnovers in the first half, and had a 15-11 rebounding advantage, and yet, they still only led by four points at the break, largely because Iowa shot 56 percent from the field in the first half and matched the Badgers with just two turnovers.

Iowa had weathered the storm and would have the support from a sellout crowd for the second half.

Iowa had trailed for the entire game until Freeman drove to the basket and made a lay-up to even the score at 47 with 18:42 remaining.

The game would be close for the rest of the way.

Iowa now hits the road again with a game at Michigan State on Tuesday.