Playing in his final game at the Kohl Center, senior forward Jon Leuer went out in style, carrying the Wisconsin men's basketball team to a 78-63 victory over Northwestern with a 26-point, six rebound performance.
Though Northwestern (6-11 Big Ten, 16-12 overall) trailed for all but the first possession, the game became one of the Badger's more difficult second half tests as the Wildcats shot their way back from a 16-point deficit to cut the lead to just three with 7:14 left.
""If they're hitting tough shots, it's hard to defend it no matter what,"" senior forward Keaton Nankivil said. ""So building that cushion makes a big difference.""
But when as it seemed things were slipping away from UW (12-4 , 22-6), its seniors erased any thoughts of what would have been a monumental collapse. Right after Northwestern junior forward John Shurna hit a three-pointer to cut the Badger lead to three, Leuer responded with a hook shot to give the Badgers a cushion.
After junior guard Jordan Taylor's triple was countered with two Wildcat free throws, a crucial second chance opportunity resulted in a three-point play from Nankivil that pushed the UW advantage to nine points, giving them a comfortable lead they would not relinquish.
""They made their run, they did the same thing last year,"" Taylor said. ""I just felt like we were always in control, especially the way Jon was playing.""
With Northwestern shooting better than 50 percent from three-point range, UW's ability to dominate inside proved crucial. While the official tally of points in the paint gave the Badgers just a 10-8 advantage, Wisconsin clearly had control of the post, evidenced fairly clearly in the numbers Leuer put up.
""I thought our guys, especially Jon, did a good job of scoring in the post,"" UW head coach Bo Ryan said after the win. ""He didn't rush things.""
The Wildcats finished with four players in double digits, but that would be the only scoring they could manage. Even though the trio of Shurna, junior forward Davide Curletti and senior guard Michael Thompson combined for 51 points, the lack of a bona fide support cast proved to be the difference, and the four hot hands that kept NU in it ran out of gas.
As the Badgers hit the road for games at Indiana and No. 2 Ohio State to close out the regular season, they know they have plenty of work left ahead of them in order to finish off the season the way they want to.
But after completing only the third perfect home slate in the last 80 years of Wisconsin basketball, there is a sense of pride in what has already been accomplished.
""When we are at the Kohl Center, we don't plan on losing ever,"" Leuer said. ""One of the goals we had was to always protect our home court and we were able to do that so lets check that one off the list.""
