CHICAGO – When teams face each other for a third time, there is nothing they can run that can surprise an opponent.

So to beat Ohio State, No. 22 Wisconsin needed to find a new weapon. A mop-topped weapon. The Badgers (21-7) relied on 23 points from senior reserve forward Zach Morley to beat the Buckeyes (20-12) 60-49 in the quarterfinals Friday of the Big Ten Tournament.

“There were a lot of things taken away from the team with the ball,” said Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan.

“By the time the first cut came, we knew where the ball was going.”

So with defenses focusing on Wisconsin’s stars, senior forward Mike Wilkinson and sophomore forward Alando Tucker, Morley got himself into a rhythm.

And the Badgers needed it. Tucker and Wilkinson combined for 24 points on 9-of-28 shooting.

“Zach came up big tonight,” Wilkinson said. “Once he stepped on the floor he did things on both ends to help us win.”

Morley got into a shooting groove by connecting on a few early post moves. He built on that and started hitting on the perimeter. Morley shot 8-of-11. He also grabbed 7 rebounds.

“Zach Morley had 23 points. I left him in the game too long,” Ryan said jokingly.

Both teams had trouble establishing any sort of consistent offense. Wisconsin shot 39 percent for the game. Ohio State hit only 34 percent of its shots.

The Buckeye’s best offensive option was junior forward Terence Dials, who scored 12 points.

“Both teams were scrappy,” Ryan said.

The score was 29-18 when Ohio State went into the half. Ohio State coach Thad Matta was upset with his team’s play, so he benched three starters and early in the second half went on a tirade, screaming at his team during a timeout.

It helped Ohio State make a run to get back into the game, but it was not enough to produce a win.