The victory for the Badgers Wednesday night against the Hoosiers was especially sweet, but not for the reasons one would think. Sure, they won by 18 points; sure, it was against a conference opponent; sure, this win broke the Badgers' first three-game losing streak since head coach Bo Ryan began his tenure in 2001.
But this win was sweet because Wisconsin had won despite the odds. Indiana, which came in ranked No. 21 in the country, had senior forward Marco Killingsworth averaging 18 points per game in this, the best season of his career. They also had the best 3-point shooting percentage in Division I hoops.
Conversely, the Badgers seemed to be in a downward spiral since sophomore forward Greg Stiemsma and freshman forward Marcus Landry declared they were academically ineligible for the remainder of the season. And as if losing five of their last six games was not enough of a blow to team morale, sophomore forward Brian Butch spent the last few days recovering from a recurring ankle sprain.
Enter Kevin Gullikson. Gullikson stepped up to help the Badgers with their problems on the blocks. Butch is not particularly agile, and junior forward Jason Chappell has been plagued by foul trouble; Stiemsma used to be the go-to-guy down in the post, especially on defense. Gullikson, a true freshman, has been a pleasant surprise in every game he has played'solid on both offense and defense, drawing fouls and hitting his free throws'something Wisconsin has made seem more difficult than it is. His effort on both ends of the court is obvious.
Tuesday night he got great results, posting career bests in rebounds and points, as well as tying bests in assists and free throw percentage.
'He just did everything,' Ryan said. 'He beat people to spots, made it tough for Killingsworth as much as you can with a guy like him, and he got on the glass, he got some offensive boards... That's pretty good... I like the way he's developing.'
'We got a great lift from Kevin Gullikson,' Tucker said. 'He's given us a newfound energy that we didn't have before coming to this game. He's given us some quality minutes.'
'I'm just learning every day,' Gullikson said.
He has got a great mentor in Tucker, who scored a game-high 29 points Tuesday and played 38 of the game's 40 minutes in the game. It seemed that the frustration from the past few weeks finally bubbled over; Tucker almost could not miss'from the lane, from behind the arc, he even went 4-for-6 of his free throws.
'He's one of the top two players in the league with [Illinois'] Dee Brown this year,' Indiana coach Mike Davis said.
Put simply, the Badgers got it done when it counted, backs against the wall.
'Hopefully that confidence can carry over to the next [game],' Ryan said.
Icing on the cake: Sophomore guard Tanner Bronson hit a three.
