The game, like so many in Bo Ryan's seven seasons as men's basketball coach at the University of Wisconsin, came down to free throws.

Free throws attempted, that is. Most of them by the Badgers.

As UW kept up a steady parade to the foul line during the second half of its 65-56 Big Ten Conference victory over Minnesota on Saturday afternoon at the Kohl Center, Tubby Smith, the first-year Golden Gophers coach with the solid gold resume, was doing a slow burn.

"I guess we were fouling every time, because the whistle was blowing every time down the court," Smith said sarcastically.

Asked to expound on that, Smith snapped, "I have nothing else to say about it. You saw the game. Everybody saw the game."

Call it one of Tubby's welcome-to-the-Big Ten moments.

Now, you'll get no argument here that Big Ten officials aren't swayed by their surroundings on occasion.

But history says that what happened in the second half, when UW was 17-for-25 from the foul line compared to Minnesota's 4-for-7, is nothing new for UW under Ryan. Nor is it unusual for an opposing coach to complain about the foul disparity after playing the Badgers.

Brian Butch, UW's senior center, has even seen players react to it.

"I think that they do get frustrated," Butch said. "There's been plenty of times I've been at the free throw line and someone's said, 'Did you pay the refs? Did you do this? Did you do that? How are you guys getting there so much?' That's been (the same) since I've been here."

No, it's been the same since Ryan got here.

This season, the Badgers have made more free throws (376) than their opponents have attempted (344). But if you think that's odd, think again. This is the fourth time in Ryan's seven seasons that the Badgers have done it.

It's easy to understand if Smith thinks he got homered in the second half of an otherwise even game.

But common sense tells you that there is no conspiracy at work, that when something happens that consistently over that length of time that there must be something to it. So many different referees seeing essentially the same thing is a sign that the way UW plays on both ends of the floor is creating that foul disparity.

"I think of a lot of it is just coming from what we do and how we play," Butch said. "They try to defend in different ways, but if you have a lot of versatility out on the floor, it's tough to defend and a lot of times you grab. You create fouls by movement."

UW did that in the second half against Minnesota, frequently posting up its big men and having its guards slash to the basket at every opportunity. Smith hasn't seen that act much, but UW fans have.

The abridged version: UW gets to the rim and makes sure the ball touches the post on offense and plays with its feet and bodies — but not its hands — on defense. The consistency with which Ryan's teams follow those marching orders has led to a huge foul disparity throughout his 24 seasons as a head coach.

"If on defense you're trying to block every shot, if you're leaving your feet, if you're lazy and use your hands, if you're lazy and don't move your feet, you're going to foul more," Ryan said. "So discipline is extremely important and I demand that. ... I'm not the only one that demands that, but the players are going to do what you're willing to accept. So we try not to commit fouls when they're out of being lazy or being overly aggressive to where you think you have to block everything."

No surprise, then, that UW ranks fifth in the nation in fewest fouls per game this season. But the other half of the Badgers' free-throw disparity equation takes place on the other end.

"On our offensive end, we're trying to get people out of position so they have to use their hands," Ryan said. "So when we attack an open lane, a baseline, a lane line, if people put their hands on you it's exposed to the officials. If you touch the post with the ball, you will shoot more free throws. Everybody in the country's heard that at clinics a million times. Now, what are you doing with your players in practice and what are you settling for in games?"

Ryan doesn't settle for it, which is why visiting coaches will continue to complain, and UW will continue to win.