MINNEAPOLIS - Trevon Hughes had 20 points and six steals to lead No. 13 Wisconsin past Minnesota 63-47 on Sunday.

Wisconsin guard Trevon Hughes, right, scores on Minnesota forward Jonathan Williams in the second half of basketball action as Wisconsin beat Minnesota, 63-47, with Hughes scoring a game-high 20 points in Minneapolis, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2008. (AP Photo/Andy King)

Marcus Landry and Brian Butch each added 11 points for the Badgers (18-3, 8-1 Big Ten), who controlled the game from start to finish. They led 39-23 at halftime and survived an ugly second half in which the Gophers (13-7, 3-5) came no closer than 14 points.

Hughes was all over the court, the big men owned the area around the basket, and Wisconsin won for the 12th time in the last 13 games.

Lawrence Westbrook led Minnesota with 11 points, and Damian Johnson had 10 points and five blocks.

The Gophers are clearly better under first-year coach Tubby Smith, who has installed a faster-paced offense and full-court pressure and given a team that went 9-22 last season a dose of confidence — plus a jolt of energy to the fan base.

Minnesota, however, is still searching for that first big win, that quality victory the NCAA tournament selection committee typically requires for an at-large bid. And with this, the Gophers dropped to 0-4 against the Big Ten's ranked teams and fell further behind the top five in what is widely considered a down season for the conference.

Wisconsin will certainly argue against that.

The Badgers stayed in step with surprising Purdue for first place, and Indiana is a half-game behind with Michigan State and Ohio State still in the race.

The Badgers have lost only to Purdue, No. 3 Duke and No. 17 Marquette. They continued to play their stifling half-court defense — the skill that rarely has a slump.

Wisconsin came into the weekend allowing an average of 54.5 points per game, the second-fewest in Division I. The Badgers held No. 11 Indiana to a season-low 49 points on Thursday, and this was the worst offensive production of the season for Minnesota.

The Barn was sold out for the third time this season, with late ticket buyers sitting on stairs in the aisles. Football coach Tim Brewster was among the recognizable faces in the crowd.

The Badgers made sure the noise level didn't last. They made 11 of their first 14 shots from the field and used a 15-2 run over a span of about 5 minutes to open a 29-10 lead.

Hughes poked away a lazy pass by Spencer Tollackson at the top of the key and took it to the other end for an easy dunk during the spurt.

Even when the Gophers were on top of their game, they had trouble catching up. Playing tight defense and draining the shot clock, they watched Butch calmly dribble to his right and swish a 3-pointer before the buzzer sounded.

With Johnson now in the starting lineup, Minnesota's bench has been less productive. More glaring for the Gophers were their nine first-half rebounds — six from freshman backup point guard Al Nolen.

Tollackson, Dan Coleman and Lawrence McKenzie, Minnesota's three seniors, again failed to collectively come through in an important game. Smith has repeatedly challenged them this season, with mixed results.

Wisconsin has won 12 of the last 13 games in this series, losing here three years ago.