Another record simply means another step in the right direction for the No. 3 Wisconsin Badgers.
Wisconsin (12-1 Big Ten, 26-2 overall) defeated a feisty Penn State (1-11, 10-15) squad handily by the score of 75-49 Saturday at the Kohl Center. The win gave the Badgers a new school record with 26 wins and extended their home winning streak to 21 games.
For senior forward Alando Tucker, who scored a game-high 22 points, there is still a long way to go for Wisconsin basketball.
""I keep telling my teammates that we don't want to stop here,"" Tucker said. ""We broke the tip of the ice, and we want to keep moving.""
And as they keep moving, it won't hurt to have the 3-point shooting the Badgers had Saturday afternoon. Wisconsin shot 12-of-23 from behind the arc, with Tucker, senior forward Kammron Taylor and freshman guard Jason Bohannon accounting for 10 of the 12 threes.
With Tucker struggling in the first half, starting 0-for-4 and ending the half 1-for-6, Wisconsin needed help. That help came from behind the 3-point line. Taylor, who ended with 18 points, hit two in the first half. But the story was Bohannon, who hit three long-range shots, with the last one well behind the arc to give the Badgers a 31-20 lead with just over three minutes remaining in the first half.
""We see it all the time in practice. I was waiting for it to come out,"" Tucker said. ""Every time before the game I ask him, ‘You going to hit me a couple tonight?' and he responds, ‘yeah,' ... He has that confidence and I have that confidence in him.""
Bohannon, who had a career-high 11 points, said the streaky shooting from long range has not been a place of emphasis for Ryan, but he made sure his team was taking good shots.
""He wasn't harping on it. He said shots will come,"" Bohannon said. ""Keep working on it in practice and keep shooting the way you are [and] things were going to work out.""
The second half was all Tucker. The senior, frustrated by his first-half output, came out with a vengeance. He scored 16 second-half points and led the Badgers to victory.
While Tucker attributed his inspired play to pep talks from Bohannon, sophomore forward Joe Krabbenhoft and junior center Greg Stiemsma, he said he knew he could not have played much poorer in the first half.
""I knew coming into the second half that I couldn't have a worse half than I had the first half and that helped my confidence,"" he said. ""I let everything slow down and I took shots I wanted.""
In the second half, the Badgers built up a good lead, but Penn State was able to keep within the 12-14 point range for a while. But at the 10:40 mark, with UW up 12, Tucker spurred a 12-0 Wisconsin run during which he accounted for seven points. The Badger lead was never in question again.
Stiemsma was also vital to the Badgers' effort off the bench. He only scored two points, but also had five assists and two blocks in only 12 minutes. The Badger bench outscored the Nittany Lions' 25-2.
While the Badgers controlled the ball beautifully with 20 assists on 27 field goals, Penn State struggled with ball control, turning the ball over 18 times, 12 in the first half.
For the Badgers, the next three games (two against Michigan State and one at No. 2 Ohio State), could define the season. And the Badgers' leader is well aware of what lies ahead.
""Our destiny is in our own hands. This will tell the tale of this Wisconsin team this year,"" Tucker said. ""Anything we do from here will add to our legacy. And I'm accepting the challenge.""
