After a sluggish first half in which the Badgers scored only 26 points, they stepped up their game in the second half, scoring 47 points en route to a 73-44 victory against conference rival Northwestern to bring their record to 7-5 in conference and 14-11 overall.
In the first half, the Badgers were shooting only 40 percent from the floor on 10 of 25 shots. Northwestern, however, struggled throughout the entire game, going 0-2 in the first half and 0-5 in the second.
There was some sign of life in the Badgers when Devin Harris pulled a jaw-dropping lay-up in the last minutes of the first half. Harris contributed again with two free throws in the last seconds to end the first half with the Badgers up 26-24.
\I didn't think we played well our first half ... and when we came out in the second half, we just couldn't stop them,"" Northwestern Head Coach Bill Carmody said. ""We couldn't mount any opposition in the second half. The other thing about this team is they are so balanced'you just can't stop them.""
Coming into the second half were a quicker, more alert Badger offense and defense. Shooting an amazing 70 percent from the floor, the Badgers had five players in double figures.
On defense, UW was aggressive as well, keeping senior guard Winston Blake and senior forward Tavaras Hardy to just seven points each, a marked improvement from the Jan. 30 game when Blake had 23 and Hardy 15.
Scoring the most for the Wildcats was freshman guard Jitim Young with 17 points followed by Blake and Hardy with seven each.
High scorers for UW included Charlie Wills, who hit 3 of 4 from downtown to pace the Badgers with 16 points. Besides Wills, four other Badgers were in double figures: junior guard Kirk Penney who had a double-double (15 points, 12 rebounds), freshman guard Devin Harris with 11 points, sophomore guard Freddie Owens with 11 and freshman forward Mike Wilkinson with 10.
In the second half the Badgers were able to capitalize on Northwestern's turnovers, scoring 14 points. In addition, the Wildcats got into foul trouble early into the game trying to stop UW as the Badgers went on a 21-4 run in the second half.
Another reason why Northwestern may have played so poorly was fatigue from their previous game against Michigan State Feb. 6. Carmody said about Hardy and the team, ""Tavaras ... was exhausted [and the team] felt worn out.""
In regards to the phenomenal second half, Wills and Penney said, ""The second half was just going for us and we just try to keep doing what we do.""
UW Head Coach Bo Ryan did not allow his players to practice Thursday after playing Ohio State, which may have contributed to the victory over Northwestern.
""It was an important day off on Thursday,"" Ryan said.
Wills agreed with his coach's assessment.
""It was a critical point,"" Wills said. ""As soon as you're done here you're not allowed on the court, rest up.\
