In a game where at one point the Badgers (5-1) led by 21 points with five minutes left in the half, UW-Green Bay Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said the game was at its most frustrating in the early minutes when Wisconsin opened with a 12-0 run.
\When you start out in a hole like we did tonight, it was hard for us to catch up,"" Kowalczyk said.
Even more frustrating for Green Bay during the early run was the play of senior forward Mike Wilkinson, who scored seven of the first 12 points that forced the Phoenix to take an early timeout. Wilkinson had a game-high 18 points and six rebounds.
""He's hard to guard,"" Kowalczyk said. ""He can really score. He had that one spin move inside and he hit a three. He's a tough guy to defend. For us, our 5-men are used to defending guys like him. Not too many 5-men can step outside the arc and also post up.""
After scoring 19 points in the first game of the season against Penn, Wilkinson scored only 16 points in the next three games combined. Now, after a career-high 26 points last Saturday against Rutgers and a solid game last night, he appears to be hitting the groove that made him so successful last season. Badger Head Coach Bo Ryan said it is a sign of not just Wilkinson hitting a rhythm, but the team as well.
""I think he's finding himself open and other players around him are getting a feel for him and when he's open in the post,"" Ryan said. ""He just keeps working at all the phases of the game and Mike's a guy that if someone's going to make a mistake defensively, Mike's a guy that probes pretty well and when he gets open, the guys hit him.""
His importance to the Badgers' game is obvious. The team is 50-7 when he scores in double figures showing how he brings stability to the team. He is also a go-to guy beyond the arc and in the post-particularly key given the inexperience at the point. Senior guard Sharif Chambliss said Wilkinson makes his job a lot easier.
""I don't think it's hard to find out where he wants the ball,"" Chambliss said. ""He has big hands and when they're open, I see him better, especially off the pick-and-roll.""
With the looks coming easier, Wilkinson said his shots come as a natural progression and that his teammates share some of the credit for the success.
""I'm just trying to take some open shots,"" Wilkinson said. ""My shot feels real good. They're giving me some open looks and I've knocked them down ... Hopefully you keep getting the ball and keep getting open looks like I have been and hopefully I'll keep knocking them down. The guys are as much to credit as anyone. They move, they keep the floor spread, they create those shots.\
