Wisconsin men's basksetball closed out their exhibition slate in style on Wednesday, cruising to a 93-59 win over Division II Minnesota State-Mankato.
Taking advantage of once again having a significant advantage inside, the Badgers leaned heavily on senior Jon Leuer, as the preseason all-Big Ten forward put up 19 points on eight of ten shooting while grabbing seven boards as Wisconsin built a comfortable lead that got as high as thirty points late in the first half.
""He's the real deal,"" MSU coach Matt Morgenthaler said after the game. ""It's unbelievable the things he can do.""
The senior finished the game with 25 points and 11 rebounds, his second straight double-double. While Leuer was in the game, the Badgers outscored MSU 63-31.
""Jon made a lot of different types of moves,"" UW head coach Bo Ryan said. ""He did just about everything you could do offensively.""
Leuer's stellar start allowed the Badgers to shut out an opponent in the paint for a third-straight half, outscoring the Mavericks 20-0 in the first half before finishing the game with a 40-14 advantage inside.
Leuer and junior guard Jordan Taylor took control from the onset, providing 29 of the Badgers' first 40 points and 35 of the 50 points the Badgers put up in the first half. The offensive dominance did not end with these two as the team shot over 65 percent from the field in that first half before cooling off to a mere 58.5 percent for the game.
Once again proving invaluable in initiating the offense, Taylor got into the mix himself, putting up 20 points of his own on seven of nine shooting while also having five assists, two rebounds and a steal, one of eight steals for the Badgers on the night.
""The way Jon can score, the way everybody on our team can shoot the ball,"" Taylor said. ""It spreads things out and makes it easier for guys like myself and [Wquinton Smith] to get in the lane and find open guys.""
""The main thing was we were able to get good quality looks, high percentage shots,"" Leuer said. ""Those are the type of looks we want to get and tonight we were able to get them.""
Meanwhile, the Mavericks struggled, shooting just 28 percent in the first half and failing to record a two-point field goal for nearly 17 minutes to start the game.
Despite the encouraging performances by Leuer and Taylor, even this 34-point victory had its flaws. Once again an opponent was able to put up 20 points on his own as Jefferson Mason got hot in the second half and finished with 20 point and nine rebounds in just 25 minutes of action.
""We still feel we have some things we need to improve upon, especially defensively,"" Leuer said.
While the Badgers were working on their 34-point win, the program made headlines off the court by signing four players from the class of 2011.
Ryan was able to get two forwards, Frank Kaminsky from Lisle, Ill. and Jared Uthoff from Cedar Rapids, Ill. Perhaps more importantly, Ryan added to the growing depth at the guard spots by signing guards George Marshall (Chicago) and Traevon Jackson (Westerville, Ohio).
""I'll take these guys against anybody [in quiz bowl],"" Ryan joked. ""And they can play … they're good parts to a team puzzle.""
With the exhibition slate behind them and the regular season looming, the Badgers head into Sunday's game against Prairie View A&M looking to embark on a season they hope will yet again serve to prove their early-season critics wrong.
