Behind a frenzied sellout crowd of 17, 142 Wednesday night at the Kohl Center, the Wisconsin men's basketball team rallied late in the second half to a 78-73 victory over Ohio State. The Badgers rode the strong play of junior forward Alando Tucker, who turned in arguably his best all-around performance of the season, posting 27 points and a season-high 16 rebounds on the Buckeyes (7-4 Big Ten, 18-4 overall).
'It had to be fun to watch if you could just sit back and watch the game,' head coach Bo Ryan said of Tucker's play. 'His energy was everywhere.'
After scoring only 28 points in the first half, the Badgers (8-4, 18-7) exploded for 50 in the second, thanks to 59 percent from the field and making 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, three of which occurred in a critical stretch late in the second half.
In stark comparison to the Badger's second half shooting performance, Wisconsin found open looks hard to come by in the first. Ohio State's perimeter defense continually frustrated the Badger shooters, particularly junior guard Kammron Taylor (12 points) who failed to hit a field goal in the first half and managed only two attempts.
Senior Buckeye big man Terence Dials (24 points, 11 rebounds) lived up to his billing early, converting his first six field goals and led Ohio State to a game-high lead of 35-22 with 2:22 remaining in the first half and routinely abused the Badger defenders in the paint. He single handedly raised the Buckeye's field goal percentage from 42 to 54 percent with his perfect shooting early.
'What can you do with a guy like that? He's thick. He's agile. He's in shape,' Ryan said of Dials' dominating play early.
Tucker and sophomore center Brian Butch, who turned in another strong performance with 17 points, kept the Badgers in early, as Wisconsin failed to find open looks from the perimeter by scoring a combined 19 points in the first half, much of which came in the paint.
Early in the second, the Badgers quickly cut into the Buckeye's 37-28 halftime lead, but could not completely close the gap as 6'9', 260 pound Dials stood in their way. He refused to let his team give up the lead as he continued his dominating play, scoring 12 of Ohio State's first 14 points in the second.
But Tucker kept the pressure on as he repeatedly scored by attacking the basket and drawing attention away from the perimeter, something that would play a crucial role in the Badgers finally retaking of the lead with 2:25 remaining. After botching several attempts to retake the lead, including two from the free- throw line, senior forward Ray Nixon connected on his second 3-pointer in as many minutes to give the Badgers the lead at 69-66, one that Wisconsin would never relinquish.
'When you hit a big shot or make a great shot and you feel the building about to erupt, the fans just go nuts and you feel a great surge just rush through your body,' Nixon said in reference to the Badgers string of big plays down the stretch.
With the Badgers up 72-68, Tucker provided arguably the highlight of the night as he stood tall in the post and used all 38 inches of his vertical leap to block a Dial's shot, which sent the already deafening crowd into a frenzy.
'Every time you think you've heard it at its loudest, wow. That was electrifying, those last six minutes and that block was all part of that,' Ryan said.
