Coming off a dominating performance Wednesday against ACC foe North Carolina State, Wisconsin figured to do that 39-point win one better Saturday against South Dakota, a program still transitioning into full Division 1 membership. But South Dakota made the Kohl Center crowd sweat out an eventual 76-61 Wisconsin win, keeping the Badger lead in single digits throughout much of the game.
""If you saw South Dakota on film, you could have scripted this game yourself,"" UW head coach Bo Ryan said following the win. ""This is how they play. They're good, they shoot it well, they have streaks [and] you've got to handle those streaks.""
Although the win wasn't nearly as flashy as any of the first three UW had notched at home thus far, the performances of junior guard Jordan Taylor and senior forward Jon Leuer were once again stellar.
Leuer notched a career-high 29 points, including six three-pointers, but was outmatched by Taylor's 20 point, 11 rebound and nine assist day that came up just a single assist shy of Wisconsin's first-ever triple-double.
""I was trying to be aggressive and try to create opportunities for myself and my teammates,"" Taylor said.
""Jordan was finding me in some open spots, you know, he penetrates the lane so well that a lot of times defenses have to collapse on him. So [for me] it's mainly just spotting up, getting my feet set, and getting ready to shoot it,"" Leuer added.
Despite a dry run during the end of the first half that allowed South Dakota to get into the break within five at 42-37, the Badgers continued to shoot the ball better in the aftermath of a poor performance from the field in Orlando, Fla., over the Thanksgiving weekend. Led by the combined 18-of-37 showing by Leuer and Taylor, UW shot at a 45 percent clip (29-of-64) and managed to shoot nearly 40 percent from beyond the arc.
""We had just one little dry patch in there but other than that we were pretty consistent from three,"" Ryan said. ""You get 36 points on 31 shots, that's pretty good. Any time you get more points than shot attempts, that's okay.""
Despite allowing 13 South Dakota points off of seven turnovers in the first half, the Badgers were able to pull away in the second half by controlling the ball and in the process keeping South Dakota away from its bread-and-butter of transition scoring.
""A 3-point shooting team salivates when there's a bad decision by the other team,"" Ryan added. ""That's like knowing, as an 8-year-old, where all the Easter eggs are and then hearing ‘Go.'""
Despite the game's close score, the Badgers feel that a solid win over an athletic team is perfect preparation for the upcoming game against Marquette and also for the Big Ten schedule that looms less than a month away.
""It's just a different challenge every week,"" sophomore forward Mike Bruesewitz said. ""What [South Dakota] does, they do really well.""
UW-Milwaukee looms as the next challenge for the 6-2 UW squad, their final matchup of a 3-game homestead before they head on the road for a date with Marquette in Milwaukee Saturday.
