The Badgers men's basketball team (0-0 Big Ten, 2-0 overall) opened its nonconference season on the same note that their preseason ended. They won two games in capturing the NABC Classic title.
In UW's first game, four Badger starters scored in double digits as they defeated the Eastern Washington Eagles (1-1) 81-55. Wisconsin senior guard Kirk Penney led all scorers for the game with 25 points. Sophomore guard Devin Harris, sophomore forward Mike Wilkinson and junior guard Freddie Owens rounded out the double digit scoring for the Badgers.
As an experimental rule, the NCAA has moved the three-point line back nine inches for non-conference games. The move had a seemingly little effect on Wisconsin as they were 50 percent as a team from behind the arc, with Penney shooting five-for-six.
\You just kind of get a feel for it,"" Penney said. ""We've been practicing on [the new three point line] all week, so I think all the guys had a feel for the new line.""
Eagles junior guard/forward Alvin Snow, who was named to the NABC all-tournament team, scored 20 points in the loss and was the only Eagle in double figures. Senior guard/forward Chris Hester, the Eagles' leading scorer from last year, was held to only six points against a four-guard lineup that Wisconsin used very often Friday night.
""Freddie [Owens] did a good job,"" Wisconsin Head Coach Bo Ryan said. ""When Hester tried to attack with the dribble, he beat him to spots, and plus the guys showed some pretty good help.""
Wisconsin advanced to play the Northern Illinois Huskies (0-0 Mid-American, 1-1 overall), who advanced by beating the Winthrop Eagles (0-2 overall) 56-50.
UW finished up their successful weekend by defeating Northern Illinois 84-56 to capture the NABC championship. Owens tied for high scoring honors with 19 points and earned a berth on the NABC All-Tournament team and the NABC Classic MVP award. Owens played tenacious defense against some of the better guards in the tournament while exploding to the basket to create scoring opportunities.
""Those kinds of awards go to people, not just by points scored, but by defense and by who you shut down,"" Ryan said. ""I think it's an excellent choice.""
""As long as we win, nothing really matters to me,"" Owens said. ""It feels good, but the win feels better.""
Wisconsin freshmen played significant roles in the win, namely true freshman guard/forward Alando Tucker. Tucker, who looked more relaxed in the second game, scored 11 points off the bench including six of UW's first nine points of the game. He also logged the second most minutes of any Badger in the first half.
""I was pretty anxious my first game,"" Tucker said. ""I talked to Coach [Ryan] and he told me to just play my game, stay energized, contribute when I could and not try to do too much.""
Minimizing mistakes and big second halves were keys to Wisconsin's success this weekend. The Badgers had a combined 15 turnovers last weekend compared to their opponents' combined 37. They also outscored Eastern Washington and Northern Illinois by 17 and 13 respectively in the second half.
""You're probably thinking 15 is a low number for two games, and I'm thinking that four or five might be,"" Ryan said. ""But I thought when they stepped up the pressure a little bit, we answered it.""
Penney scored 19 points in the win over Northern Illinois while Husky junior forward Marcus Smallwood had 13 points and 11 rebounds in the loss. Both were named to the NABC All-Tournament team.
