After a week off for finals, the Badgers quickly erased any thought of rust as they cruised to an 80-56 victory over Coppin State on Thursday night. The Eagles did manage to get on the board, but that 2-0 Coppin State lead would be the last deficit UW would face as a 20-7 Wisconsin run quickly put the game out of reach.
Needing 26 points to get to 1,000 for his career, senior forward Jon Leuer was hot early, hitting 4/5 from three-point range in the first four minutes of play to post the first 14 UW points, eventually going on to finish the game with 19 points and 5 rebounds.
"I was able to knock down the first couple and got into a rhythm,” Leuer said. “My teammates were finding me in open spots, and I was finding myself open a lot against that zone. I was just picking spots where I knew teammates could find me, and I just knocked them down."
As has been the case throughout the non-conference season, Jon Leuer's hot start gave way to Jordan Taylor's crisp finish. After Leuer gave Wisconsin the lead, it was Taylor that made sure the Eagles never posed a real threat from there in. The junior guard didn't score in the first 12 minutes of play but still managed to match Leuer's 19 points while also grabbing 7 rebounds and contributing 6 assists.
Though the same Leuer-Taylor story was certainly a part of this victory, the 31 points contributed by UW’s bench was a welcome sight as the Badgers head into conference play.
“They went in and made things happen. They were active. Each individual has strengths and each individual has weaknesses, and we just keep probing for the strengths. To try and get guys to understand what they can do when they come in…” UW head coach Bo Ryan said. “So entering the Big Ten season hopefully we’ll stay in the position that we are, in that guys just keep working. The bench, you’ve got to have it. Nobody plays five guys and you’re not going to be successful without it.”
One of those surprises was senior Tim Jarmusz. Coming off a disappointing 2009-2010 campaign, Jarmusz’s non-conference performances thus far had been nothing to get excited about. But the forward finally caught fire on Thursday night, finishing the night 4-5 from beyond the arc for 12 points in 16 minutes of play off the bench.
And with brother Adam home from Afghanistan for the holidays, Thursday night truly was a special one for the Oshkosh native.
“Today was just one of those nights where I felt like anything I threw up was going in,” Jarmusz said. “Adam was here but he's been to a couple games before. We just worked really well at moving the ball in the zone and find people. I was just able to knock down shots when I was open."
Despite disappointing losses at UNLV and in the Old Spice final against Notre Dame, the Badgers head into conference play with a very respectable 10-2 record including wins over Marquette and NC State. But starting with Minnesota on Tuesday night, the cupcake games are now over and every night will bring a significant challenge.
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