The Badgers' men's basketball team soundly defeated in-state foe, the UW-Milwaukee Panthers, by a score of 61-40 Wednesday night.
Keeping with the tradition of the young season, the Badgers got off to a slow start. So far this season, the difference between Wisconsin's shooting percentages from first half to second has been striking.
In the first half, the Badgers have shot a lackluster 40 percent from the field and 27.2 percent from downtown in comparison to a scintillating 50.2 percent from the field and 45.7 percent from three-point range in the second half. The Panthers ‘defense kept UW at bay early, as the Badgers scored only 24 points in the first 17 minutes of action.
Against Milwaukee's Horizon League-worst defense, Wisconsin was not able to excel in areas that are usually its bread and butter.
The Badgers lead not only the Big Ten, but the nation as well, in assist-to-turnover ratio at a mark of 1.8 assists for every turnover and in turnovers per game with 8.8. For a team that prides itself on their mistake-free persona, 13 turnovers and only 11 assists Wednesday night does not bode well.
Even with all the offensive difficulties the Badgers encountered, they managed to solidify a victory thanks to a 20-6 run, over the six minutes from the first half's late moments to the beginning of the second half.
During this run, senior forward Jon Leuer, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Week, led the way for the Badgers. On the night, he scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while junior guard Jordan Taylor added 14 points and six assists.
""With Leuer being as long as he is, he catches it in the post and just turns and shoots,"" UW-Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter said. ""I am not sure what else we can do, maybe tickle him or something.""
As poorly as the Badgers played with the ball in their hands, they made up for it with a relentless defensive effort.
""We had certain things we were trying to do to take away their tendencies, just like they were doing to us,"" Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan said.
Going into the game, senior forward Anthony Hill led the Panthers with 14.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game and was fresh off the performance of his life against Youngstown State, in which he totaled 30 points and 12 boards. The Badgers werefixed on Hill the entire game, suffocating him to a frustrating 0-8 shooting night. ""Hill's going to hurt a lot of people and he already has, he just had a rough night,"" Ryan said.
This game marked the 12th consecutive year that the Badgers will play all three Division I Wisconsin schools in the same season. Next up on the schedule is long-time rival Marquette.
On Saturday, the Badgers will travel east to challenge the Golden Eagles at the Bradley Center in the battle for Dairy State bragging rights.
While this isn't last year's Marquette squad, it remains one of the top teams in the nation; both senior forward Jimmy Butler and junior guard Darius Johnson-Odom average over 14 points per game.
""It's fun for us to see the other in-state teams. It is a big rivalry between us and there is a little extra incentive,"" Leuer said.
The Badgers will need all the incentive they can get their hands on and a better performance offensively, as the 141-11 record that the Badgers covet at the cozy Kohl Center will not do them much good in downtown Milwaukee.
