The Wisconsin men's basketball team was able to put its loss this past Tuesday to top-ranked Illinois behind them and left Happy Valley with a 76-50 victory over Penn State on Saturday night.
While the main story line going into the game was the return of senior guard Shariff Chambliss to the Bryce Jordan Center, sophomore guard Kammron Taylor quickly stole the spotlight, scoring a game high 20 points with three assists while committing only one turnover.
The win improved Wisconsin to 14-4 overall and 5-2 in the Big Ten, which puts the Badgers in third place behind Illinois (7-0) and Michigan State (5-1). The win also snapped a three-game losing streak to Penn State on the road and gave head coach Bo Ryan a victory in every Big Ten arena except Illinois.
The clutch play of Taylor was even more important on Saturday, as he started in place of injured forward Alando Tucker, who sat out for the second game this season due to a foot injury he aggravated in Tuesday's loss to Illinois.
\We've played without Alando before,"" Ryan said. ""Somebody's misfortune is somebody else's fortune. So, there's 30 minutes of somebody else getting on the floor. Obviously, you never wish that as a player. But what happens is they know that if we want to be a competitive team, somebody better pick it up.""
The Badgers controlled the game from the start as they opened by scoring on their first six possessions and hitting six of their first seven shots. They had a 12-0 run midway through the first half when they led by as many as 18 points.
After a three-pointer by senior guard Clayton Hanson, Chambliss penetrated along the baseline and made a touch pass to senior forward Zack Morley for a monstrous two-handed dunk over a Penn State defender. Morley was fouled on the play and missed the free throw, but Wilkinson grabbed the rebound which led to a Chambliss three-pointer that gave Wisconsin a 26-15 lead with eight and a half minutes left.
The impressive play early on took the life out of the crowd of 9,142 fans who welcomed Chambliss with a chorus of boos every time he touched the ball. The boos slowly dwindled, however, as the Badger lead increased throughout the game.
""It felt great to come here and get a win,"" said Chambliss, who had seven points, five rebounds and a game-high four assists.
""Definitely, we needed some momentum coming off that loss, and all the sentimental stuff went out the door as soon as the ball was up in play,"" Chambliss said.
Taylor's play was complemented by seniors Mike Wilkinson and Clayton Hanson, who added 11 points each for Wisconsin. Wilkinson also grabbed nine rebounds, five off the offensive glass. Redshirt freshman Brian Butch, who did not see action in the Illinois game, scored seven points but still seemed uncomfortable on the defensive end.
As the lead in the second half peaked at 29 points, it was clear Chambliss would come out on top in his anticipated return.
""Call it what you call it; me and my team came in there to get a win,"" Chambliss said. ""That's what we did.""
Junior forward Aaron Johnson led Penn State (1-6 Big Ten, 7-13 overall) with 17 points and 11 rebounds, but he could not stop the Badger offense, as their 53.4 percent shooting from the field was the best against a Big Ten opponent this season.
""I just think tonight was our night,"" said Taylor, calling the performance the best of his career. ""Everything was clicking. We took our time. We didn't rush anything and it showed.""
??-The Capital Times and the Wisconsin State Journal
contributed to this report.
