• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- St. John' started too slow Friday night to be able to take home a victory as a souvenir of its unusual season-opening trip to the eastern edge of South Dakota.
• The Red Storm trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half of an 86-75 loss to No. 20 Wisconsin before a crowd of 3,523 at the Sanford Pentagon.
• They whittled that deficit down to four points with about 8 minutes left only to give up consecutive 3-pointers in a 22-second span. Just like that they were down 10.
• "That's kind of our game this year -- all five guys on the floor can shoot," Wisconsin guard Josh Gasser said. "We were really taking advantage of that especially early and especially when the game was getting tight."
• The Badgers outscored St. John's 33-6 from beyond the arc. They also made their final 12 attempts from the free throw line and placed five players in double figures -- led by 19 from Gasser in his return from injury -- to earn a 12th consecutive win in season openers.
• "I thought there were some stretches where we played really poorly and some stretches where we played really well," Red Storm coach Steve Lavin said.
• "Falling down 18 is ultimately what cost us the game."
• The Badgers never trailed, taking control early with an 11-2 run. St. John's made a move in the second half by getting aggressive, using its athletic advantage to ramp up the defense pressure after opening the game in a zone defense.
• Forward JaKarr Sampson, the freshman of the year in the Big East last season, provided the initial spark with several electric dunks. He finished with 21 points and seven rebounds. D'Angelo Harrison had 27 points on 9-of-19 shooting.
• The Red Storm were cold early, making nine field goals in the first half compared to 10 turnovers and 10 fouls. They committed just two turnovers in the second half and finished with a 44-24 edge in points in the paint. But it wasn't enough as Wisconsin outscored them 33-6 from beyond the arc and made its final 12 attempts from the free throw line to win the first meeting between the programs since the 2002 NCAA tournament.
• The Badgers are 4-0 in the series.

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