CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Wisconsin's high-scoring offense has garnered much of the attention during the school's best start in 20 years.

It was the Badgers' defense that did the hard work Wednesday night in a 48-38 victory against Virginia.

"I'm glad we won like this," Josh Gasser said. "It's about time we played that way defensively."

Gasser led all scorers with 11 points and Wisconsin limited Virginia to its lowest point total since a 77-36 loss to Connecticut on Nov. 29, 1993. The Cavaliers shot just 23 percent (11 of 47) and went 1 for 11 on 3-pointers.

And while Virginia's nationally ranked defense kept Wisconsin well off its 76.8-point average, the Badgers' defense and Virginia's inability to convert on offense made it an ugly game.

"It was so hard to get good looks, and even when you did get good looks, they were hurried," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said after earning his 300th victory with the Badgers. "That was two teams just really beating people to positions, rotating, making it difficult to get easy baskets. There weren't a lot of easy baskets in that game."

The game was a rematch from last year's ACC/Big Ten Challenge, when Virginia won 60-54 in Madison, Wis., behind 22 points from Joe Harris. This time, Gasser had a big hand in keeping the Cavaliers' leading scorer quiet.

Harris finished 1 for 10 from the field, including 0 of 4 from 3-point territory, and scored just two points.

"I was trying to do my job out there, not give him any easy looks," Gasser said while also crediting solid team defense. "He's just a great player and fortunately, he wasn't hitting them."

The Badgers (9-0) extended their best start since opening 11-0 in 1993-94 despite shooting 29 percent (15 for 52). During one stretch of nearly 22 minutes spanning the halves, the Cavaliers managed just three field goals while falling behind 37-23.

London Perrantes led Virginia (7-2) with eight points and Mike Tobey had seven.

The Cavaliers tried to make a run by speeding up the slow pace midway through the second half, but came up well short.

"We have some warts, as every team does, and when all the guys go cold at once, it's hard," coach Tony Bennett said.