MADISON, Wis. -- After Wisconsin scored the game's first 12 points coach Bo Ryan got what he really expected Tuesday night -- a tough time against Wisconsin-Green Bay.
"These kind of games -- every possession is a battle," Ryan said after No. 24 Wisconsin beat Wisconsin-Green Bay 65-55, extending the longest current home winning streak in NCAA Division 1 to 32 games. "It means something."
Mike Wilkinson scored 18 points as the Badgers (5-1) began a three-game stretch against their in-state rivals with a victory. Wisconsin plays at Marquette on Saturday and hosts Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Dec. 15.
Alando Tucker added 16 points, and Sharif Chambliss had 13 for Wisconsin.
The Badgers made their first five shots and were 13-for-22 from the floor in building a 32-11 lead with 4:49 left in the first half.
But Wisconsin cooled off, missing 18 of its last 28 shots. Still, the Badgers remained in control of the game with solid defense.
"It ended up looking, probably to some people, like ugly basketball, Ryan said.
Not to Wisconsin, which improved to 11-0 against Green Bay all-time.
Josh Lawrence and Javier Mendiburu scored 10 points apiece for the Phoenix (4-2).
"I don't think we were ever a serious threat to Wisconsin tonight, and that bothers me," Green Bay coach Tod Kowalczyk said.
Much of that was due to the play of Wilkinson, who was 17-for-28 from the floor and has scored 44 points in the Badgers' last two games after getting just 16 points over the previous three.
Wilkinson, a 6-foot-8 center, caused matchup problems for Green Bay because he could move outside and knock down jumpers from the perimeter.
"He's a tough guy to defend," Kowalczyk said. "Our (centers) aren't used to defending guys like him."
Chambliss also continued his solid play of late. He is averaging 14 points in Wisconsin's last three games and is 9-for-15 from 3-point range in that span.
Chambliss made a pair of 3-pointers against the Phoenix.
Ryan was more impressed with Chambliss' floor play. The senior point guard had three assists and no turnovers in 30 minutes of action.
"He's not trying to do things that he can't," Ryan said. "He's gained the confidence of the team and more importantly he has the confidence in himself to get things done."
Zach Morley and Wilkinson drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to complete the game-opening run for Wisconsin. Green Bay missed its first four shots and had four turnovers in that span.
"When you start out in a hole like we did tonight, it was hard for us to catch up," Kowalczyk said.
Green Bay pulled to 20-11 but went the next 6:31 without scoring. Chambliss hit a pair of 3-pointers during the Phoenix's scoring drought to key another 12-0 run that gave the Badgers their 32-11 lead.
Wisconsin took a 35-21 edge into halftime, and Tucker scored the Badgers' first nine points after the break.
Wisconsin matched its biggest lead of the game at 56-35 with 7:29 left before Green Bay finally started hitting some of its shots down the stretch to make the score more respectable.
"Green Bay's a good team," Wilkinson said. "They didn't knock down some shots tonight that they normally knock down. If they make their shots, who knows what could have happened."
