While students begin getting back for the spring semester, the ball continues to roll for Badger men’s basketball as they look for their second Big Ten championship in four years.
Winter break proved to be a challenging stint for the team as they ended their non-conference slate and dove into the tough Big Ten schedule.
Wisconsin headed into finals first with what now stands out as their best non-conference victory, a 69-64 win over Marquette in Milwaukee and finally with a 70-56 win over Green Bay to finish their first in-state sweep since the 2006-2007 season. Riding a five-game winning streak into finals, UW came out of exams into their final non-conference game, an 80-56 blowout of Coppin State.
Finishing non-conference play at 10-2, Minnesota stood as the opening test for UW’s Big Ten campaign. Even though Christmas had come and gone Jordan Taylor played the role of Santa dishing out seven assists to compliment his 22 points. But the story was Wisconsin’s Division 1 season-low two turnovers, preventing the Gophers from getting easy buckets. Although the Badgers were out-rebounded by the Gophers 42-24, they were somehow able to walk away with a 68-60 win heading into 2011.
2011 began with UW’s first Big Ten road test, a match-up with the Illini down in Champaign. With Badger nation still reeling from a Rose Bowl loss, Wisconsin had their worst shooting display of the season as they fell 69-60 at Assembly Hall despite forcing 12 turnovers while only giving the ball up three times.
“We had great penetration kick-outs probably more so in that game than any other…” UW head coach Bo Ryan said. “You make two or three more of those. That’s all. You make two or three more, and look at the difference in a game. If they’re twisting, running, off balance, that’s a bad shot. I think you guys have seen enough basketball to know the difference.”
Three days later the Badgers looked to redeem themselves as the Maize and Blue invaded the Kohl Center for their Jan. 5 contest. Despite trailing at the half, Wisconsin finally got things going with an aggressive second half from Leuer, Taylor and senior forward Keaton Nankivil, taking care of the Wolverines 66-50. The three combined for 50 of the Badgers 66 total points, matching Michigan’s total output for the game. Taylor lived up to his NCAA leading 3.95 assist-to-turnover ratio, dishing out three assists and only one turnover while chipping in a game high 20 points in 39 minutes of play.
Whenever the Badgers square off with the Michigan State Spartans, fans are well aware they are in for a treat and January 11th definitely did not disappoint. Both the Badgers and the Spartans came in with a 2-1 record in Big Ten play so a victory was crucial in remaining competitive in the conference-this was evident from the tip. Michigan State kept up with the Badgers the entire game, and at halftime the Badgers led by three. The second half showed much of the same from both teams and a nine point UW lead with just under two minutes left in the game seemed to guarantee a Badger victory. Despite a late loss to Notre Dame in November’s Old Spice Classic final, Wisconsin came into East Lansing 34-1 when leading at the 4 minute mark of the 2nd half dating back to last season. But thanks to some uncharacteristic play from the Badgers press break, the Spartans were able to muster a run as UW turned the ball over four times during the penultimate minute. Jordan Taylor led UW with 22 points but was unable to hit an eventual game winner late in OT as the Badgers fell in a heartbreaker, 64-61.
Despite a fight from another reeling team in Illinois, UW showed an ability to bounce back in their 76-66 victory against the Illini this past weekend at the Kohl Center. Jon Leuer led all scorers with 26 points.
“I felt like against Michigan State I let my teammates down by not being aggressive and making good plays and good reads,” Leuer said. “I felt tonight I did a better job of that…but it was a total team effort from everybody.”
With 13 games left in a challenging conference schedule, UW’s toughness will definitely be tested along their journey to an eighteenth Big Ten championship.
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