Green Bay News

Photos submitted to ReportIt, Feb. 8-14, 2015.

APPLETON – Rob and Louise got a Monday Morning Makeover from Salon CTI in Appleton.

Check out the video above to see how Josif Wittnik and his team did.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A University of Wisconsin-Madison student is accused of sexually assaulting another student in October.

According to authorities, a 20-year-old Cedarburg man was arrested Friday on a second-degree sexual assault charge. He’s accused of assaulting a 22-year-old woman at an off-campus location.

The victim was taken to the campus police station to report the assault at about 3 a.m. on Oct. 25 after asking a delivery driver for help.

Authorities say they identified the suspect after months of investigating and used DNA evidence to link him to the assault.

Police say the suspect and victim don’t know each other.

ELLSWORTH, Wis. (AP) – Sheriff’s officials in western Wisconsin are investigating the death of a 59-year-old man whose body was found in a wooded area.

Someone called Pierce County sheriff’s officials at about 11 p.m. Sunday to report a man found lying next to tree near a residence in the Spring Lake Township.

The man was unresponsive when medical personnel arrived. He was identified as Robert Delong, from Elmwood, which is about 5 miles from where he was found.

The sheriff’s department is investigating the circumstances of his death.

BELLEVUE – Making Valentine’s Day dinner for that special someone is one of the more popular ways people show they care.

FOX 11’s Pauleen Le spent the morning at Copp’s in Bellevue for ideas.

For more information on Copp’s, click here.

Brie Cheese Pie

Ingredients:

Brie Cheese

Pie crust

Fig jam (any jam you like)

Walnuts

Directions:

Cut Brie cheese in the middle. Spread the jam, top with nuts. Put the other half of the cheese in the pie crust and bake until crust is brown (according to package directions).

Serve with Lavosh heart crackers and fruit.

GREEN BAY- Expect partly sunny skies Monday with a high near 20. Winds will be north at 5 to 10 mph.

We’ll see increasing clouds as a storm system approaches Tuesday. Highs top out in the upper 20s. Light snow is possible in the afternoon, with about 1-2″ expected across the area.

Much colder than normal temperatures return through the weekend.

BOSTON (AP) – Snow is falling yet again on New England and portions of New York state, threatening to bring up to 1 to 2 feet to some areas and making the first commutes of the workweek potentially hazardous.

The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for central New York, the western Catskills and much of New England through early Tuesday.

Government officials Sunday announced that schools and municipal offices in many communities would be closed and that parking bans would be in effect. As accidents began to accumulate, drivers were warned to stay off the slick roads.

“This storm marks our third major snow storm we have experienced in nearly two weeks,” as parts of Massachusetts have already seen over 60 inches of snowfall, said Gov. Charlie Baker. He said it would cause “many challenges” for the state.

The Boston area was expected to receive 1 to 2 feet of snow through Tuesday while Hartford, Connecticut, and Providence, Rhode Island, could each get up to a foot.

In New York, accumulations of 6 to 8 inches were predicted in northern New York, 5 to 10 inches in the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes, and 4 to 8 inches in western New York. Buffalo was expected to get 2 to 6 inches.

“I’m frustrated. The last thing I want to be talking about is another 24 inches of snow. I want to move on to something else,” Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh said at City Hall on Sunday. “It’s unprecedented. … Maybe up in Alaska or Buffalo, they have this amount of snow and they’re used to it.”

Adding insult to injury, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency warned that potentially record cold temperatures and wind chills are expected to move into the region later in the week.

Walsh said the city would close schools Tuesday as well. Court closings Monday meant another weather-related delay in jury selection in the Boston Marathon bombing trial and in the murder trial in Fall River of former NFL star Aaron Hernandez.

The snow is likely to cause problems for workweek commuters, though it wasn’t expected to accumulate as rapidly as in earlier snowstorms, including a record-busting late January blizzard. It also posed little risk of the coastal flooding that last month’s winter blasts brought.

Baker said state offices would be closed for non-emergency personnel Monday and encouraged businesses to allow employees to work from home or stay home so they wouldn’t be on the roads.

The steady run of winter blasts has already sucked up over 70 percent of New Hampshire’s Department of Transportation winter maintenance budget. And the next round of snow was already promising trouble Sunday.

New Hampshire State Police closed parts of northbound Interstate 93 in Manchester for hours as tow trucks removed a school bus that lost control on slushy roads and rolled down an embankment. The driver was the only person on board.

The small college town of Henniker, which lost its fleet of plows in a fire Jan. 30, was using plows on loan from the state. DOT spokesman Bill Boynton said the three back-up trucks would probably remain with the town throughout the winter.

While the snow is welcome at New England ski resorts, it’s a headache for some businesses.

“I normally have 15 to 20 dogs for day care but that’s down to half a dozen; people can’t get here,” said Bruce Billings, owner of Canine College and Bow Wow Resort, a dog training, day care and boarding center in Holbrook, Massachusetts, 10 miles south of Boston.

Billings said he’s trying to clear outdoor play areas with a snow blower because only the biggest dogs can frolic through snow that’s 2 to 3 feet deep.

Boston’s transit system, the nation’s oldest, has been particularly hard hit this winter. The buildup of snow and ice on trolley tracks combined with aging equipment has stalled trains, delaying and angering commuters.

Over the weekend, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority said crews were doing everything they could, including deploying massive jet-powered snow blowers, to clear tracks before the storm. Baker said Boston’s subway lines will operate on an abbreviated schedule Monday. The MBTA said it will try to keep commuter trains on a normal weekday schedule, but delays are likely.

Boston’s Logan International Airport will be allowing only a limited amount of flights to arrive and depart Monday so travelers should check with their airlines, the governor said.

In many New England communities, the obvious problem is where to put the new snowfall.

David Lombari, public works director for West Warwick, Rhode Island, said his town was already clogged with piles of snow several feet high and school buses were parked in the usual snow storage lot.

“I don’t know what we’re going to do yet,” Lombari said. “It’s tough trying to find a place that meets all the proper (environmental) criteria.”

State snow disposal guidelines require that communities use locations that won’t harm environmental resources and have barriers that prevent contaminants from seeping into groundwater when the snow melts.

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Bruce Jenner was not texting while driving when he got into a chain-reaction crash in Malibu that left a woman dead, and he will provide cellphone records if requested by investigators looking into the cause of the weekend accident, a publicist for the Olympic gold medalist said.

“The evidence will show that Bruce was not texting at the time of the accident,” Alan Nierob said.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s officials said Sunday that investigators will likely seek cellphone records for all the drivers to determine if distracted driving played a role in the four-vehicle crash on Pacific Coast Highway.

Jenner was driving a black Cadillac Escalade when he rear-ended a Lexus sedan that slammed into a Toyota Prius that had slowed down or stopped on the highway, sheriff’s Sgt. Philip Brooks said.

The Lexus veered into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with a black Hummer.

The driver of the Lexus – Kim Howe 69, of Calabasas, California – was pronounced dead at the scene.

In his first comments since Saturday’s crash, Jenner called the accident “a devastating tragedy” and vowed to cooperate with investigators.

“My heartfelt and deepest sympathies go out to the family and loved ones, and to all of those who were involved or injured in this terrible accident,” Jenner said in a statement Sunday evening. “It is a devastating tragedy I cannot pretend to imagine what this family is going through at this time. I am praying for them.”

The moment of impact was captured by celebrity photographers, who quickly posted the images on the Internet. The photos show the white Lexus mangled in the front and back, facing the Hummer, which had a heavily damaged engine and its hood popped open. Jenner’s Escalade, which was pulling an off-road vehicle, had a damaged front end.

There was no indication Jenner was being chased by paparazzi at the time of the crash, authorities said.

Jenner passed a field sobriety test and voluntarily submitted a blood sample to determine whether he was intoxicated, they added.

The sheriff’s department has custody of all the vehicles and will be inspecting them to ensure they are mechanically sound or whether a defect prevented somebody from stopping in time.

Investigators could also request search warrants, if necessary. The information gleaned from those records could help inform prosecutors, if they were to consider charges against the drivers involved.

However, Brooks said it is difficult to determine if a driver was texting at the exact time of a collision. Investigators will look at signs of driver behavior such as multiple texts that span a period of time leading up to, or including, the crash, Brooks said.

The crash comes at a time of widespread talk that Jenner, 65, is becoming a woman. Though Jenner himself has declined public comment, his appearance has gradually become more traditionally feminine. Those in his inner circles have not challenged speculation that he is preparing to live as a woman and perhaps will appear in a new reality series about his transition.

Jenner won a gold medal in the men’s decathlon at the 1976 Summer Games, but he is known to a younger generation as Kim Kardashian’s stepfather. He and Kris Jenner appeared on the reality series “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” along with their children, and the pair’s relationship and its troubles have been featured prominently on the show. The two finalized their divorce late last year, ending 23 years of marriage.

MANITOWOC, Wis. (AP) – Students at Wilson Junior High School investigated a murder earlier this month, but the victim was never really alive.

A mannequin named Mr. Nooo had been stabbed, and the students were tasked with collecting the evidence and bringing his “killer” to justice.

Surveying the scene, a group of approximately a dozen students turned up evidence such as a boot print, fingerprints and the murder weapon.

“I was happy that they were eager,” said Jeremy Kronforst, a school resource officer, told HTR Media. “They were very involved and I was happy with that. They were definitely digging into it.”

The mock murder investigation was planned by Kronforst, who wanted to show students what it is like to be a police officer. The officer teaches a Junior Police Academy class three days a week at Wilson where students learn about law enforcement through presentations and hands-on involvement.

Kronforst, a 14-year officer of the Manitowoc Police Department, is in his first year as a resource officer and splits his time between Wilson and McKinley Academy.

“I needed a change, not that I didn’t like to work on third shift, but the shift grinds on you physically,” he said.

The Junior Police Academy class takes place during HAWK (High Achieving Wilson Kids) Time at Wilson, a 25-minute class period where students can receive extra help on subjects they are struggling with or take “fun” extra classes.

Kronforst said the police academy class has been popular, especially when the mock crime scene was announced.

On the first day of the class, students surveyed the scene and collected evidence. On the second day, students confronted and questioned two suspects – played by law enforcement colleagues of Kronforst.

“This is something we use as a tool to show this is why police work this way and why police question people,” Kronforst said. “We all live in this community and we want to be a safe place to be.”

During questions, students were able to pin down a suspect using evidence they collected – the smoking gun was a boot print.

“The size was a match,” said Aaron Lembke, of matching the boot print to their suspect.

“It was fun,” he said. “When you have them on the ropes you can nail them with one last question.”

Student Zach Belongia said the class has sparked an interest in law enforcement, but that he is not yet sure if it is a career for him.

“When I was little it seemed fun, but now I realize you could risk your life,” he said. “Something could go wrong at a scene and you could be injured or wounded.”

For local bowling fans at the USBC Masters final Sunday, the chance to sit so close to the action was a dream right up their alley

“I’ve wanted to see Pete Weber in person since I could walk,” fan Zach Mielke said. “I’ve been watching him every Sunday since I was 12, so it’s pretty cool.”

“This is like the Super Bowl of bowling, so to put something like this on in Ashwaubenon is a pretty big deal,” fan Matt Kinnard said.

From local competitors getting a chance to mix it up with the field, to lifelong fans getting to root on their idols, the first bowling major held at the Ashwaubenon Bowling Alley was a smash success.

“Great crowd,” Co-Owner Dave LaBar said. “Great fan support. The gate was sensational. Pros were awesome, couldn’t have gone any better.”

“To have their support is amazing,” PBA bowler A.J. Johnson said. “All week they’ve been here for us, this place is packed for a reason.”

An estimated 8,000-10,000 fans attended the tournament throughout the week, huge numbers making it possible that the USBC tour returns sometime in the near future.

“The PBA has been talking and we did well,” LaBar said. “This was a trial for us and we did really well.”

As for the final, two-time defending champion Jason Belmonte defeated collegiate upstart A.J. Johnson, 202-157 for his third straight title. In Green Bay, championships are something they’re no stranger too.

“This city loves its football team, I can tell you that,” Belmote said. “To win a third title in the city of a team that has done it three times is pretty cool.”

There’s nothing quite like a hometown roll.

“I can tell why they do the discount double check and why the Packers are so good, Johnson said.”

In Ashwaubenon, Dylan Scott Fox 11 Sports.

APPLETON – Kids in the Fox Valley spent the day celebrating healthy smiles at the Building for Kids Children’s Museum.

Organizers expected around 2,000 people to attend the free event at the museum.

Several organizations had displays and activities promoting oral health.

Visitors could explore how a healthy mouth is part of a healthy body and learn how to take care of their teeth.

Organizers say for some it’s their first time learning about oral health.

“It’s a really fun way to introduce them to oral hygiene and the mouth is the gateway to your body, so it’s very very important,” said Jarrad Bittner with the Building for Kids Children’s Museum.

The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday.

APPLETON – Governor Walker’s budget proposal isn’t rolling well with members of the Fox Cities Cycling Association.

The group rallied Sunday in hopes of keeping budgets cuts from affecting bicyclists across the state.

“I would like to have them use the money for more bike trails and more bike lanes because some roads are unsafe,” said Salm.

Salm, along with a handful of other bicyclists, met at Lawrence University in Appleton to ask for support.

“There’s three areas that are going to hit cycling pretty hard in the budget. The first area is the Complete Streets legislation,” said Rob Gusky, president of the Fox Cities Cycling Association.

The six year old Complete Streets law requires bicyclists and pedestrians to be considered when new roads are built and state and federal money is used.

Under Walker’s proposed budget, that law would no longer exist and save $7.4 million over a two year period.

Another cut would come to the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program.

“What that does is that purchases open space and preserves it,” Gusky said.

The last proposed budget cut of $2 million to the Transportation Alternatives Program also has cyclists concerned.

“That fund helps specifically with bike infrastructure and bike lanes,” Gusky said.

Last week Walker commented on his proposed budget saying it could always change.

“There’s never been a budget proposed by a governor that’s been proposed and voted on the way it was.” Gov. Walker said.

The Fox Cities Cycling Association President invited local leaders and a state legislator to hear his concerns.

“In these times, we’re all going to have to share the sacrifice. We just want to make sure that it’s done equitably,” Gusky said.

Gusky says over the next few months his group will continue to fight for cyclists rights and take those concerns before the budget is finalized.

CAMP BULLIS TEXAS – A student from the University of Wisconsin Green Bay is the winner of the ‘Best Warrior’ title in the 80th Training Command of the Army Reserve.

Staff Sergeant Jordan Stubblefield spent Feb. 5-7 at Camp Bullis Texas competing in a rigorous challenge for the ‘Best Warrior’ title. The annual title is designed to identify the best competitors from among the 6,800 soldiers within the command.

The competition includes physical fitness, weapons handling, marksmanship, drill and ceremony,land navigation and a written test. Stubblefield beat out nine other non-commissioned officers to earn the title during the soldier competition.

“Extremely difficult,” Stubblefield told FOX 11 News. “Few tasks in the Army are quite so exhausting and difficult as a training event where you’re just constanty beat up for few days. All in all it’s pretty fantastic!”

Later this year Stubblefield will move on to compete in the overall U.S. Army Reserve Command’s 2015 Best Warrior Competition.

IOLA – Dozens of ski jumpers took flight in Iola Sunday, capping off the 54th annual Winter Carnival in the village.

The event, which is part of the Central USSA Ski Jumping Championships, went off without a hitch. Even despite the area receiving considerably less snowfall than last season, according to event organizers.

Put on by the Iola Winter Sports Club, skiers (some as young as five years old) took off from hills with distances ranging between five meters to 60 meters.

FOX 11’s Bill Miston is working on this story and will have more on FOX 11 News at Nine.

GREEN BAY – As the renovations continue this off season with the construction of the new Packers Hall of Fame and a new restaurant, many fans who purchased Lambeau Field commemorative bricks or tiles in the last 12 years have had their mementos relocated because of the changes to the building.

With construction wrapping up this summer, fans will be able to see their bricks and tiles in different areas of the stadium.

Tiles located on stadium’s outside wall on the west side facing Ridge Road will be inaccessible until summer, as construction trailers remain parked in that area. Following the completion of the Atrium renovations this summer, all bricks and tiles will again be accessible for viewing by fans.

The program allows for fans to purchase bricks or tiles for a range of prices and sizes in exchange for having a personalized inscription etched into the bricks and tiles at the stadium. The sale began in 2003 through the Brown County Stadium District, when Lambeau Field underwent its major stadium renovation project. The costs, which were originally aimed at offsetting the half percent sales tax for Brown County residents, are now directed into a fund to help with the stadium’s maintenance and upkeep.

Fans seeking more information about the brick and tile sale can click here. Those looking for where their tiles or bricks can be found following the atrium renovations can ask Packers staff at the guest relations desk in the Atrium or call 888-422-7425 (888-GBBRICK).

High school hockey teams in Wisconsin now know the path they must travel to make it to state as the WIAA released playoff brackets on Sunday.

From Northeast Wisconsin, the only boys team earning a number-one seed was from Bay Port High School. The Bay Area Ice Bears on the girls side earned a two-seed.

Both boys and girls hockey teams have regular season games remaining. Opening post-season games are on Tuesday, February 17th. The State Tournament for both boys and girls are held March 5th-7th at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison.

You can see the complete boys hockey brackets here: http://halftime.wiaawi.org/CustomApps/Tournaments/Brackets/HTML/2015_Hockey_Boys_Div1_Sec3_5.html

You can see the complete girls hockey brackets here: http://halftime.wiaawi.org/CustomApps/Tournaments/Brackets/HTML/2015_Hockey_Girls_Div1_Sec1_2.html

GREEN BAY — The Green Bay Packers offseason coaching shakeup appears to be continuing. According to the NFL Network and WDUZ radio, Packers offensive coordinator Tom Clements will be promoted and take over play-calling duties and wide receivers coach Edgar Bennett will move up to offensive coordinator.

Clements would be named the team’s associate head coach. He has spent the past 9 seasons with the Packers, three of those serving as offensive coordinator, taking over after Joe Philbin left for the Miami Dolphins. McCarthy had called plays since taking over as Green Bay’s head coach. His background was as an offensive coordinator before getting the Packers’ head job.

Bennett has been Green Bay’s receivers coach for the past six seasons and spent the four years before that coaching running backs for the team. Bennett played running back for the Packers, racking up the 10th most rushing yards in the team’s history. He was inducted in the Packers Hall of Fame in 2005.

Earlier this offseason, the Packers released special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum. That position has not been filled yet.

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) – Environmental advocates warn that manure spills are putting Wisconsin’s water supply at risk.

Livestock operations have spilled at least 4.8 million gallons of manure since 2009, according to Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources data and published reports across Gannett Wisconsin Media.

More than 3 million gallons of manure spilled in 2013 and 2014. The numbers could be even higher because the DNR’s records don’t include cases that are still under investigation by the agency.

DNR records show most of the incidents resulted from equipment malfunctions or accidents.

DNR spokesman Ed Culhane says most spills are cleaned up without any measurable harm to people or animals.

But at least some have caused fish kills, polluted wetlands and contaminated drinking water, according to reports published by Gannett Wisconsin Media.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The potential $1 billion settlement of NFL concussion claims appears very close to winning final approval from a federal judge, to the chagrin of critics who believe the plan remains murky or pays too little to struggling former players.

Hours after Tom Brady led the New England Patriots to another Super Bowl title, the judge weighing the plan to cover some 20,000 NFL retirees suggested only a few minor revisions.

“There were no deal-breakers. There were tweaks,” said lawyer Craig Mitnick, who represents more than 1,000 ex-players. He expects the lead players’ lawyers and NFL to resolve Senior U.S. District Judge Anita Brody’s concerns and revise the plan by her Friday deadline.

Brody suggested that the awards include time spent in NFL Europe and other affiliated leagues, and they cover brain-trauma deaths through the day the deal is finalized.

Missing from her proposed fixes was any mention of the broader criticisms raised at a November fairness hearing.

They include three key concerns:

– That the average payout of $190,00 for aging men struggling with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia is too low;

– That the plan has too many variables to estimate what families should expect, and decide to opt out or appeal; and

– That there are no future payouts for what many call the “signature” scourge of football concussions – CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

“We have been screaming that CTE is the most serious … injury that will occur to these players over time,” Chicago lawyer Thomas Demetrio said last week. “The portion of the brain that controls our mood, our anger, suicidal tendencies – that’s all gone (from future payouts). The NFL has gotten rid of it for all time.”

Demetrio represents the family of the late Dave Duerson, the popular Chicago Bears safety who was found to have CTE after his 2011 suicide.

Currently, CTE can only be diagnosed after death, and has been found in the brains of dozens of concussed ex-athletes. However, some scientists believe there may be tests for the living within 10 years.

The settlement would pay up to $4 million to the families of those who died with CTE between 2006 and, if the deal concludes this year, 2015.

But there would be no award for future deaths involving CTE, to avoid “incentivizing” suicide. And there’s no plan to include men with non-cognitive problems, such as depression, rage and other mood disorders.

“There’s no solid scientific data that suggests those symptoms absolutely correlate with concussions,” Mitnick said. “You have to draw the line somewhere or the settlement becomes unfair to the NFL.”

The settlement could pay out $1 billion over 65 years, including interest and $112 million for potential lawyer fees, according to court filings.

All retirees would get baseline testing. And the NFL expects some 6,000 men – or 28 percent – to qualify for an award because of Alzheimer’s disease or moderate dementia.

The lawsuits accuse the league of hiding studies linking concussions to neurological problems for decades. However, the NFL has argued that, unless a settlement is reached, the cases should be heard in arbitration and not in court.

“The thing that’s very disheartening, (with Brody’s order coming) the day after the Super Bowl, the day after such a blatant show of extravagance, (that) so many people are going to be left out in the cold,” said Eleanor Perfetto of Annapolis, Md., whose husband, Ralph Wenzel, had both Alzheimer’s disease and CTE when he died in 2010. He had played for Pittsburgh and San Diego from 1966 to 1973. He was 69 when he died, and had been ill for more than a decade.

Perfetto, a health sciences professor at Johns Hopkins University, said the factors involved in the award grid, including the age of diagnosis, are unfair and hard to calculate.

“It’s virtually impossible for (former players) and their families to figure out exactly what is being offered,” she said.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Cool under pressure, Bronson Koenig has proven to be more than a suitable fill-in at point guard for No. 5 Wisconsin.

The sophomore has helped the Badgers keep humming along in the Big Ten while starter Traevon Jackson recovers from right foot surgery.

Koenig scored a career-high 16 points, Sam Dekker also had 16 and Wisconsin won its sixth straight by beating Northwestern 65-50 on Saturday.

Koenig has been a steadying force while Wisconsin (21-2, 9-1) waits for its regular floor general to return. The quick, confident Koenig is hitting 52 percent from 3-point territory since entering the starting lineup on Jan. 11 against Rutgers, the same game in which Jackson got hurt.

“Confidence is everything, especially with shooting,” said Koenig, who was 4 of 8 from behind the arc on Saturday. “The past couple weeks … my confidence has grown quite a bit and obviously playing a lot more minutes, I get more opportunities.”

Alex Olah had 15 points for Northwestern. The Big Ten’s last-place team extended its losing streak to nine.

The Wildcats did narrow a 22-point deficit against the conference leaders to 11 with 1 minute left on a 3-pointer by Tre Demps. Coach Chris Collins liked the way his young team, which starts two freshman, tried to claw back on the road.

“There’s going to be no quit on my team,” Collins said. “We fought back … to me that shows a lot about my group.”

But they were trying to play catch-up all day long. Wisconsin’s athletic frontcourt overpowered the Wildcats (10-13, 1-9) to open a big early lead.

Dekker started the scoring for Wisconsin with a 3 before later darting through the interior of the 2-3 zone for a dunk. The agile 6-foot-7 forward also converted an alley-oop from Josh Gasser for another slam during a game-opening 21-4 run.

Nigel Hayes pitched in with 11 points, all in the first half, against the Wildcats.

“They’re playing against teams that are like well-oiled machines, especially this team,” Collins said.

The Badgers led by 16 at halftime, and their toughest challenge in the second half was making sure that they kept their concentration while playing with a big lead. In Wisconsin’s previous game, Indiana cut a 30-point deficit in half in the second half.

“I don’t think we took our (feet) off the gas. They just starting hitting a couple of shots,” Dekker said. “We kept it going pretty good and got a 15-point win.”

BIG-TIME BRONSON

While forwards Dekker and Hayes controlled the opening 20 minutes on Saturday, Koenig paced the Badgers out of the locker room at halftime with two 3s and a tough, leaning layup with the shot clock winding down that maintained a 21-point lead with about 12 minutes left in the game.

“He didn’t panic out there, made good ball fakes, set up other guys,” Ryan said. “A lot of times he made the pass that led to the pass for the basket.”

ZONED OUT

Collins turned to the zone to try to help answer Wisconsin’s athleticism. Overall, he liked what he saw, especially after Wisconsin cooled off following a 7-of-10 start from the field to finish at 38 percent shooting for the day.

The Wildcats will need to rebound better, though, to be effective. Wisconsin had the edge on the offensive glass 13-5, and 39-25 overall.

“The thing we have to clean up better – we have to rebound better,” Collins said.

TIP-INS

Northwestern: 6-foot-5 guard JerShon Cobb picked up two fouls at 9:40 of the first half – before and after a stoppage of play – while trying to guard the 6-foot-8 Hayes in the post. Cobb picked up a third foul 2 minutes later and went scoreless for the game. Collins praised the senior for fighting through lingering foot and knee injuries. … The Wildcats’ only Big Ten win came in their conference opener, a 51-47 victory at Rutgers on Dec. 30.

Wisconsin: The Badgers’ 9-1 start in the Big Ten matched its best in conference play since 1914. … Gasser had eight points and season-high nine rebounds in his school-record 127th career start.

UP NEXT

Northwestern: hosts Michigan State on Tuesday.

Wisconsin: at Nebraska on Tuesday.

(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)