In their first conference action of the season, the Badgers were out-rebounded 42-24, outscored in the paint 34-12, defeated in the battle for second chance points 16-2 and gave up 10 fast break points without notching one of their own.
They are also 1-0 in the Big Ten.
Despite losing every statistical battle to the athletic Gophers, Wisconsin somehow managed to start the Big Ten season with a 68-60 win to put an end to a three-game losing streak to rival Minnesota.
Even though Minnesota was able to grab 17 offensive rebounds, it was the rebound that senior forward Jon Leuer was able to grab for UW that ultimately seemed to put the Badgers over the hump.
Up by just two at the time, junior guard Jordan Taylor was forced to take a tough three-point shot that was way short. Minnesota failed to box out Leuer, and the offensive rebound gave UW the opportunity to sit on the ball and force the Gophers to foul.
""I saw the shot clock was down—I always try to go to the glass as hard as I can—and that was a case where nobody blocked me out,"" Leuer said. ""Fortunately, it just kind of grazed the rim and fell into my lap. At that point, I just thought, get it out, and know the time and score to work the clock a little bit. It should have been a lay-up, but they fouled Keaton [Nankivil].""
Despite that miss, Taylor was unquestionably the story of the night. In typical fashion, Taylor was slow out of the gate, not scoring until after 12 minutes into the game. But that slow start led to a rapid finish as the Minnesota native blitzed his home-state school for 22 points to go along with seven assists to just one turnover.
""You have to love his character, his demeanor and his work ethic. I'll never get tired of saying those things about a young man that handles himself that way Jordan Taylor does,"" UW head coach Bo Ryan said after the game. ""Jordan is the real deal. He's that kind of guy. You have to like a guy with that kind of pressure, with that good of a team, who can disrupt and play a game with just two turnovers and to go 7-1; that's pretty good. He's definitely our leader on the court. I think he inspired the other guys, and I'm glad he's on our team.""
Taylor set the stage for a truly astonishing offensive performance in terms of taking care of the ball. The athletic Gopher defense, known for its pressure and trapping schemes, was only able to force two turnovers all night as the Badgers took care of the ball like it was their life. The two turnovers were an NCAA season-low and the second lowest in school history.
""Anytime you have two turnovers in a game you give yourselves a pretty good chance to win,"" Taylor said. ""We took care of the ball, made good decisions for the most part—and scoring 68 points off that team is a pretty good accomplishment. They have some long, athletic guys who can really defend. That's a good team. We're just happy to have the win.""
Leuer added 16 points and nine rebounds to the effort. In the process, Leuer became just the 36th player in Wisconsin history to cross the 1,000-point mark for his career.
The Badgers don't have much time to sit back and enjoy the victory, as another athletic team, this time from Illinois, lies waiting for a Sunday evening match-up in Champaign. With two games against the Fighting Illini over the next two weeks, Wisconsin faces a crucial series as it aims to get through a difficult early conference stretch that also includes a trip to East Lansing.
""Like coach Ryan said after the game, we're 1-0 in the Big Ten and we have 17 more to go,"" Leuer said. ""It was a big game for us, and we're going to try to use it as momentum into the Big Ten season. Right now we have to start focusing on Illinois. We'll enjoy this one but look to Illinois.""
