At the halfway point of Big Ten regular season play, Head Coach Bo Ryan's Badgers have sent a strong message to the conference and more importantly to themselves: This young squad, driven by heart and hustle, is one talented and energized enough to contend down the stretch this season.
Shedding a blow-out loss to Illinois on Wednesday, Wisconsin (5-3 Big Ten, 12-9 overall) sustained a vicious Penn State comeback run midway through the second half, and held on to defeat the Nittany Lions 66-63 Saturday at the Kohl Center.
The Badgers, who never trailed, improved to 8-1 at home this season, grabbing just enough boards and adding just enough lay-ups from senior forward Charlie Wills and freshman forward Mike Wilkinson in the games final minutes to turn away Penn State's comeback run'a rally that saw the Lions nearly claw back from 18 points in the second half. The loss keeps PSU in the Big Ten cellar at 1-6, 5-13 overall.
The Badgers answered Penn State's second-half charge with baskets from the game's leading scorer, junior guard Kirk Penney, who had 20 points, and strong efforts from Wills and Wilkinson. However, a controversial foul was called on UW senior guard Travon Davis with 32 seconds left, and subsequent free throws by PSU junior guard Brandon Watkins brought the Lions within striking distance, down 64-60.
\I was poised, I was cool,"" Davis said. ""You've just got to keep playing. ... We probably could have handled [the end] better, though.""
Matters were complicated further when Penney turned the ball over with 24 seconds remaining and Watkins hit a three-pointer, cutting UW's lead to 64-63.
""Something like that (turnover) happens, you've got to calm a guy down. ... That's the time to challenge the other guys to pick him up,"" Ryan said.
After Ryan's timeout call, Watkins'in a must-foul situation with 16 seconds remaining'sent Travon Davis to the line, who ""picked up"" for UW in a big way, connecting on two huge free throws. On the ensuing drive, needing three to tie, PSU forward Tyler Smith was not able to reel off the three-point bucket as time expired.
""We wanted to get a look from the three-point line and that's what we got,"" Lions coach Jerry Dunn said. ""It could have been a little more cleaner and better executed.""
Though Penn State shooters'Watkins, sophomore guard Sharif Chambliss, Smith, and freshman forward Jan Jagla'rallied for the Lions in the second half, Wisconsin's 28 points to PSU's 16 in the paint, and UW's domination on the boards'especially the offensive boards'kept Penn State down for most of the game. Wisconsin's 32-20 lead at the half and game high 18-point lead at the 17:34 mark of the second half dominated the Lions until Watkins and Chambliss caught fire shortly after.
""We got a lot of hustle opportunities,"" Ryan said. ""We got 15 offensive rebounds.""
Commenting on the Badger's physical play in the post and his key lay-ups against PSU, Wills, the game's leading rebounder said, ""Coach does a lot of post drills and when the opportunity presents itself in the game, I've got to be comfortable with it.""
The Badgers look to continue their impressive Big Ten run at Northwestern Wednesday.
