Behind another impressive performance by Wisconsin junior guard Devin Harris, the Badgers (5-1 Big Ten, 14-3 overall) won their first conference road game of the season Wednesday night.
Now tied for first place in the Big Ten with Indiana, the Badgers defeated Ohio State (1-5, 9-10), 69-57, mainly because of the play of Harris, who nearly matched his career performance from the previous game.
After shooting an airball on his first shot attempt of the game, Harris lit up the Buckeyes with 29 points on nine of 12 shooting and five of seven from beyond the arc. He also pitched in four rebounds, four assists and five steals.
The Buckeyes jumped on the Badgers out of the gates to a 12-6 lead. After UW battled back to take the lead, they finished off the final five minutes of the first half on a 16-7 run, capped by a tip-in as time expired to give the Badgers a 37-27 halftime lead.
Head Coach Bo Ryan's squad came out in the second half with the same intensity, as they ran off a 12-2 run in the first five minutes. Building a lead up to 20 points, the Badgers offense worked directly off an aggressive, stifling defense, scoring 24 points off 21 forced turnovers.
Ohio State never got closer than 12 points in the second half, and by that time, the game was over.
The Badgers, as a team, shot 48.1 percent from the field for the game and 47.4 from three-point territory.
On top of Harris' stellar offensive output, junior forward Zach Morley added nine points and six rebounds, junior forward Mike Wilkinson pitched in eight points and two rebounds, senior center Dave Mader tallied seven points and sophomore guard Boo Wade contributed six points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals.
-Arvind Gopalratnam
