Badgers Continue To Roll With Rout of Wofford

Wisconsin has a bit of a history with Wofford, with the Terriers having given UW the scare of a lifetime in a 53-49 Badger win in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. But while there have been many instances of déjà vu for Badger athletics in recent weeks, Saturday night’s rematch was not among those as Wisconsin’s stifling defense eventually led to a 69-33 Badger win. Once again, it was the defense that shined for Wisconsin. After holding their first two opponents to just 29% from the field, the Badgers upped their game early on, holding the Terriers at just 20% in the first twenty minutes of play, heading into the locker room on a 19-2 run that led to a 32-12 halftime lead. “You always like a run like that,” junior forward Ryan Evans said. “But it all starts with defense.” “{Wofford} hurts a lot of teams inside…” UW head coach Bo Ryan said. “If you have people that are committed to {playing good defense}, it tends to make the whole look a lot better.” From there, it was simply an easy cruise toward victory, as Wisconsin continued to extend the lead until it finally reached its peak of 36 following a last second jumper by junior walk-on J.D. Wise, a turnaround attempt that got the Badger bench on its feet with less than a minute remaining in the game. Once again, the Badger scoring came from across the board. Three Badgers finished Saturday in double digits, led by sophomore guard Josh Gasser, whose four-for-four performance from beyond the arc led to a 16-point night. “I have more confidence this year and that just comes with maturing from freshman year to sophomore year…” Gasser said. “A lot of guys are knocking down shots and that just leaves me open.” Perhaps the biggest story was the man who was not involved heavily in the scoring, senior guard Jordan Taylor. Having been called upon to put points on the board throughout last season’s Sweet 16 campaign, the preseason first-team All-American point guard took command of the troops quietly on Saturday, only attempting three shots in the game and finishing the night with just four points. Once again, Taylor was ultra-efficient, racking up four assists without committing a turnover. “We all know what he can do,” Evans said. “But he’s just playing real team ball right now.” When the Badgers are able to get scoring from anywhere, opponents are finding them tough to defend. Add in the versatility of the Badger big men, their capability of shooting from distance, and you have a formula for success that has kept UW virtually unbeatable at home under Bo Ryan. “I think they’re very good…” Wofford head coach Mike Young said after the game. “It requires a level of awareness and a level of toughness to guard that. Such a grind, such a grind to play the Badgers.” The Badgers have one more warm-up in Madison as part of the Chicago Invitational when they face UMKC on Tuesday night. After that, UW heads south to face Bradley in the Chicago Invitational with a Saturday contest against either BYU or Nevada to round out the pre-UNC portion of the nonconference schedule. Three more victories and the Badgers have the table set for a big-time match-up in Chapel Hill.