Fresh off the holiday and still stinging from a loss to No. 2 Connecticut Monday night, the No. 25 Wisconsin men's basketball team (5-1) soundly defeated in-state opponent UW-Milwaukee (3-4) Saturday at the Kohl Center. Nearly a week and a half since their last home game, coming home from the Virgin Islands and playing in front of a sea of red and white was much appreciated by the Badgers.
I think guys are eager to get back home and play on their own court,"" senior forward Marcus Landry said. ""The weather, of course, is not something we want to come back to. But just getting back home and being able to play on your own court and in an atmosphere that you're used to is always a good thing.""
Wisconsin had their way with the visiting Panthers early on, taking an 18-12 advantage in rebounds and points in the paint at the half. The Badgers' height advantage gave them the statistical lead in nearly every category and was a major factor in the 37-27 score at the half.
""You have to give a lot of credit to Wisconsin [Madison],"" UW-Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter said. ""Their defense is one where you have to shoot over the top of them, and they're going to limit you to one shot. If you look at our offensive rebounds, we only had four, so we were not getting multiple opportunities.""
Things only seemed to get easier for Wisconsin, who started out the second half with a 13-2 run, which was capped off by a deep three point shot from junior guard Trévon Hughes from the top of the arc to put the Badgers up on a 50-29 advantage. The team did not let up on their stingy defense and took advantage of numerous trips to the free throw line to finish the game. Wisconsin shot 18 of 26 at the free throw line compared to 10 of 12 for the Panthers.
But defense and free throw shooting down the stretch were not the only factors that contributed to the solid win. With Hughes, Landry and senior forward Joe Krabbenhoft all netting double-digit point totals and sophomore center Jon Leuer tacking on another nine for the day, Wisconsin's ball distribution - especially down low to the big men - played a vital role in the team's success. The domination of the Badgers underneath was also apparent in the rebound category, where the team gathered in 36 boards, including 10 offensive rebounds. Krabbenhoft's 12 points and 10 rebounds in the contest was the team's first double-double of the year.
""My teammates did a great job of finding me down low,"" Krabbenhoft said. ""I had an advantage over some of the guys guarding me and the point guards did a great job calling plays to get me in the post and to get [Landry] in the post and go to work down there. They were just easy buckets. I tried to get my hands on a couple rebounds which went my way and did my best job of putting it back up there and trying to finish and I'm glad they dropped in.""
The Badgers have not had much time to prepare for their next game against Virginia Tech (4-2), which takes place tonight in Blacksburg, Va. The game is Wisconsin's matchup in this year's installment of the Big Ten-ACC Challenge and is the Badgers' third road game in the past four years of the series.
Unlike how the Panthers did Saturday, the Hokies do have enough big men on their roster to size up with the Badgers. At 6'7"", sophomore forward Jeff Allen leads the team in points with 101 and rebounds with 10.5 per game this year. Senior guard/forward A.D. Vassallo and sophomore guard Malcolm Delaney are the primary offensive threats behind Allen, as both are averaging better than 16 points per game.
Tipoff for tonight's game is set for 6 p.m. and is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN2.
- uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
