The Florida International Golden Panthers lost 79-63 Saturday at the Kohl Center, but the loss was most likely the best part of the road trip for FIU.
Deterred by snow storms in the Midwest, FIU did not arrive to Madison until 5:45 a.m. Saturday, just over seven hours before the scheduled tip-off with the Badgers. The team ended up flying through Minneapolis and taking a bus down to Madison.
To make matters worse, their equipment was stuck in Chicago and did not make it to the Kohl Center in time for the game.
""The coach's son said he would get us some gear. So we got some gear, we were here, and we played,"" FIU head coach Sergio Ruoco said after the game.
The Panthers ended up buying new shoes and sported all-black practice jerseys that had nothing but numbers on them. Still, they were able to put their travel woes behind them and play.
""We got shoes, and we got practice gear to play, and that's all we need,"" Ruoco said. ""We played a top 20 team at their place, and we played them tough.""
Led by senior guard Johwen Villegas, the Panthers played well against a much better Badgers team. Villegas had a season-high 24 points and tied a Kohl Center record by hitting seven 3-pointers in the game.
""He had six [threes] last year at DePaul. I have to bring him to the Midwest more often,"" Ruoco said.
Villegas also played junior college basketball in Iowa.
Despite losing by 16 points, FIU's performance was better than expected and a great improvement from its65-39 loss at George Mason Nov. 27.
1st half run key
Down 11-10 five minutes into the game, Wisconsin's defense stepped up to hold FIU without a field goal for the next eight-and-a-half minutes.
Meanwhile, freshman guard Jason Bohannon got hot, hitting three 3-pointers in the first half to help UW pull away. Bohannon gave his teammates credit for finding him.
""We reverse the ball really well and they just happened to find me,"" Bohannon said. ""I hit the open shot. It was just great team work.""
The most impressive of the three converted 3-pointers came when he saved a ball that was heading out of bounds. After saving the ball to senior forward Alando Tucker, Bohannon immediately ran back to the 3-point line where Tucker found him open for his third three.
Tucker talked about that play after the game.
""Bohannon told me the ref was blinding him, but I told him, ‘When you caught it, you knew what to do with it.' And he put it in,"" Tucker said. ""That's what he's been doing since he stepped on the court. He's a smart player and that's one of things that's going to carry him a long way in a Wisconsin uniform.""
When asked why he thinks Bohannon is receiving the playing time he has gotten so far, Tucker simply said, ""He's knocking down the shot.""
Bohannon finished with nine points in 19 minutes.
Tough stretch ahead
After starting 7-1, UW will now start a stretch of five consecutive games against 2006 NCAA Tournament teams starting Monday against Winthrop.
""And this is why people were saying our non-conference schedule was one of the toughest in the country,"" UW head coach Bo Ryan said. ""If we are going to be playing well in the Big Ten, we need to play well against the teams coming up. But that is why we need the depth that our team has.""
