Even the uglier wins look better when they take place on the Mexican coastline.
Especially when those wins add to what has been one of the nation’s most impressive undefeated resumes so far this season.
In the converted ballroom of the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya in Cancun, Mexico, No. 10 Wisconsin (7-0 overall) ground out a win against Saint Louis Tuesday before holding off a late surge from West Virginia Wednesday to win the 2013 Cancun Challenge.
The pace of Tuesday’s game started at an absolute crawl, with both teams combining for 12 points in the games’ first seven minutes. Neither team was shooting above 35 percent at that point.
Wisconsin eventually broke away and gained a 31-23 lead going into halftime.
Junior center Frank Kaminsky led a revitalized Badger defense with 4 blocks in the half.
After allowing 68 points a game this year, Tuesday’s matchup saw a flashback to last year’s stifling defense, holding Saint Louis to just 32 percent shooting.
Wisconsin kept it going after the break, eventually taking a 40-25 lead five minutes into the second half.
The Billikens were eventually able to take advantage of sloppy play and rough free throw shooting from the Badgers, cutting the lead to five.
A few subsequent turnovers and some cold shooting by the Billikens, however, ultimately gave Wisconsin the chance to win.
The Badgers also mirrored last year’s team in free throw percentage Tuesday, finishing 17-of-30 from the line.
Despite being seen practicing with the team in Cancun, sophomore guard George Marshall also missed his fifth game this season with a concussion.
Wednesday’s game started close, with West Virginia looking competitive as the Mountaineers battled to an 11-10 advantage six minutes into the game.
The Badgers then went on a 20-2 run, giving UW a lead it would never relinquish.
Late threes and free throws from West Virginia sophomore guard Eron Harris kept the lead to single digits in the game’s final minutes, but a lack of other options and 43 percent free throw shooting ultimately doomed the Mountaineers.
Harris lead all players with 27 points on 7-of-11 3-point shooting. He and junior guard Juwan Staten combined to account for 71 percent of West Virginia’s points.
Sam Dekker led the Badgers with 21 points and 12 rebounds, registering his first career double-double.
All of Wisconsin’s starters reached double figures in scoring except junior guard Traevon Jackson, whose seven assists drove the offense.
Sophomore guard George Marshall was once again absent and has now missed six games since his concussion in practice before UW faced Green Bay Nov. 16.
Wednesday’s game marked the end of a stretch of five games in nine days for Wisconsin.
The Badgers are now midway through a week-long break ending with a trip to Charlottesville Wednesday to face Virginia in the Big Ten-ACC challenge.
