MADISON, Wisc. — Finally, the Nittany Lions will return home.

It’s not that they mind being on the road, however.

Penn State wrapped up its three-stop tour of the Midwest — in which the Lions won 28 of 30 bouts — with a demolition of Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon.

No. 3 Penn State swept the Badgers, winning 10 bouts and earning bonus points in six matches, en route to a 43-0 win. It was the first time Penn State had shut out another Big Ten team and the first time since 1958 the Badgers have been victims of a shutout.

Penn State won at Michigan State 36-6 on Jan. 8 and earned a 38-3 win at No. 17 Northwestern on Friday. As a prelude, the Nittany Lions ran away with the Southern Scuffle championship at the turn of the New Year.

Penn State (7-1, 3-1) will return to Rec Hall for the first time since Dec. 11 for a home showdown against No. 2 Iowa (9-1, 4-0) on Sunday.

“As soon as you get that momentum coming up, then people just want to keep it going whether they’re exhausted or not. It definitely helps our freshmen, it kind of puts them in the right mindset,” Sophomore 174-pounder Ed Ruth told the Penn State Sports Network. “Wrestling against teams like Wisconsin and Northwestern, it really helps us see where our shots are at, what we can focus on, where we need to improve and I think it’s been a good thing.”

If the Lions choose to review film of their duals against the Wildcats or the Badgers, they’ll be hard-pressed to find any area that needs grievous improvement.

In nearly every match the Nittany Lions wrestled over the weekend, they were the pace-setters. Penn State surrendered just four takedowns to Northwestern and only two to the Badgers while racking up 22 and 31 for themselves, respectively.

No. 1 David Taylor clinched the dual for Penn State with his ninth pin of the season at 165 pounds, this one coming via a tight cradle locked on Wisconsin’s Alex Yde. Taylor was expected to wrestle former high school teammate No. 14 Ben Jordan, but Jordan didn’t weigh in before the dual and the Badgers sent Yde out to try to collect his first dual win of the season.

Taylor would have none of it, building a 15-4 lead before putting Yde into that cradle in 2:28.

Ruth, ranked No. 2 in the country at 174 pounds, added another bonus-point victory for Penn State with a 17-2 technical fall over Scott Liegel at the 5:37 mark.

No. 2 Quentin Wright followed by earning his seventh pin in his last 10 bouts, this one coming against Timmy McCall 6:05 into their bout at 184 pounds.

Wright and Taylor are tied for the team lead in pins while No. 6 heavyweight Cameron Wade has seven. Ruth and backup Matt Brown have six apiece.

While the will to beat their opponents has certainly fueled the Nittany Lions in their quest to reclaim the Big Ten and national championship, they’ve also been motivated to one-up each other.

“It definitely makes the sport fun, but to be honest with you, I feel like if I just won by a point it would be fun,” Ruth said. “I still like the grinding matches as well. Whether I get a tech fall, a pin or even if I just beat the guy by one point, as long as he’s grinding with me I still love the matches. It’s fun.”

Ruth said he’s been personally motivated by the hard work his teammates have put in this season, specifically one of his workout partners — Brown.

“If every team had a Matt Brown, if every team had a Morgan McIntosh, a Nico Megaludis, those guys are grinders, man,” Ruth said. “When I go into the room, I have Quentin, I have David, I have the coaches to wrestle with. It’s not like I just go to the freshmen and have an easy match. I still have to grind with those guys too. I love it.”

Megaludis wasted little time getting Penn State started. Much like he did against the Wildcats, the true freshman set the tone with takedown after takedown, building a 19-7 lead after two periods against Austin Hietpas. Megaludis eventually secured the fall with an arm-bar at 6:05.

Frank Martellotti stayed unbeaten in duals with a 14-6 major decision over Shane McQuade at 133 and Bryan Pearsall added to Penn State’s team score with a 4-2 decision win against Tommy Glenn.

No. 1 Frank Molinaro put on a clinic against No. 9 Cole Schmitt at 149 pounds. Molinaro used a takedown and three tilts that resulted in nearfall points to earn a 12-0 major decision. Molinaro was named the Ernie Lucas Award winner for outstanding wrestling in an away dual.

At 157 pounds, No. 9 Dylan Alton got back into the win column after dropping a close bout to No. 3 Jason Welch of Northwestern on Friday. Alton used three takedowns and a tilt to cruise to an 11-4 win over Shawn Perry.

McIntosh added a 7-3 decision over Jackson Hein at 197 while Wade finished the dual with the afternoon’s closest bout, a 6-4 win over Cole Tobin at 285.

Notes: Penn State improved to 12-8 all time against Wisconsin. ... Although Penn State had never shut out a Big Ten team before Sunday, the Nittany Lions have 11 shutouts in their favor dating back to the 1992-93 season. ... Penn State, which blanked Lock Haven 50-0 last month, has shut out opponents twice in the same season just three times dating back to 1992-93. ... Pearsall improved to 3-0 in Big Ten action this season. ... Molinaro’s shutout win over Schmitt was his 10th of the season. ... Ruth won the Ernie Lucas Award for Friday’s dual. ... Penn State senior 197-pounder Clay Stead-man provided color commentary for the Penn State Sports Network. ... Iowa beat Northwestern 24-13 on Sunday.