The list of items working against the Badgers in the second half of Wednesday night's game with Iowa was long: They were without important bench players senior forward Zach Morley and freshman center Brian Butch, the Hawkeyes had emerged from the locker room shooting lights out and the Badgers trailed by 13 with 12:44 remaining in the game. The Badgers were in danger of losing their second straight contest... but they did not act like it.
The Badgers promptly went on a 22-4 run over the next nine minutes and thanks to clutch performances from sophomore guard Kammron Taylor and senior forward Mike Wilkinson, the Badgers escaped with a 72-69 victory over Iowa.
\Just spurts, runs ... isn't it amazing in this game? That's why you can never get too low and you can't get too high,"" UW-Madison head coach Bo Ryan said.
Free throws played a crucial role in the Badger win. The Badgers have not been particularly strong from the line this season, but a 27-for-35 night from the line made the difference, as the Badgers made 13 more free throws than the Hawkeyes attempted.
The two teams played to a tie after the opening 20 minutes. The Hawkeyes relied heavily on junior forward Greg Brunner, who scored 14 points in the first 12 minutes and a game-high 27.
Wilkinson struggled to contain Brunner and also struggled from the field, going just 2-of-8 in the first half, but worked hard to turn things around in the second half.
""He's a great player. He made some shots early that he didn't make in the second half,"" Wilkinson said. ""But he's a load down there.""
Wisconsin trailed by as many as eight points in the first half, but chipped away at the lead. Wilkinson made two free throws with no time left on the clock to tie the game 34-34.
The Hawkeyes seemingly could not miss to start the second half, especially junior guard Jeff Horner, who hit three 3-pointers and scored 11 points in the first 7:16 of the half as the Hawkeyes jumped out on top 52-39.
But Iowa grew as cold as they were hot during the middle of the half as Wisconsin came from behind again. Iowa went just 1-of-10 from the floor over a stretch of more than seven minutes.
On the other side of the ball, Taylor and senior guard Sharif Chambliss hit successive 3-pointers before Wilkinson deposited five straight points. Taylor tied the game with a 3-pointer with 5:42 remaining and Wilkinson gave the Badgers the lead one minute later.
""We didn't get too anxious when we got down ... and I think we executed pretty well,"" Taylor said. ""We just took our time and we didn't get rattled.""
The two of them sealed the deal at the line-Wilkinson went 10-of-12 from the line while Taylor finished 9-of-10. The two finished with 20 and 26 points, respectively.
""I think possession for possession and the way we matched up, that's as hard a contested game as we've played,"" Ryan said.
On another positive note, sophomore forward Alando Tucker looked much more comfortable, scoring 13 points and leading the team with eight rebounds.
The win not only represented a good turnaround from the disappointing loss, but also a good test as the team prepares for Saturday's game against No. 1 Illinois in Champaign.
