UW Rains on BYU and Takes Home Tourney Title

Badgers Rain On BYU Parade, Take Home Tourney Title Having won their first five games by an average of nearly 40 points, Saturday night’s Chicago Invitational Challenge final against BYU was the first real challenge the Badgers have faced thus far in the young season. Although the Badgers (6-0, 0-0) struggled at times against the Cougar zone, they eventually found their stroke from beyond the three-point arc, shooting their way to an 73-56 victory. “We had to learn a bit on the fly,” UW head coach Bo Ryan said after the game. “I thought our guys adjusted well…BYU is a heck of a team and I am sure they are going to do well in their league...I like the way our guys responded.” Sophomore guard Ben Brust took advantage of the shooting space made available by BYU’s matchup zone. The sharpshooting Mundelein, Illinois native overcame a slow start by nailing seven three-point shots to give him a team-high 21 points on the night. Brust led an 11-0 Badger run with three triples early on in the second half that took what had been a back-and-forth game and quickly put the Badgers in firm control. “His moxie when it comes to finding open angles is pretty good,” Ryan said. “And his teammates know it and they find him.” Still, forward Jared Berggren may have played an even bigger role in the UW victory. The redshirt junior finished the game with 13 points and 5 rebounds, but more importantly held BYU forward Brandon Davies in check. Though the highlight reels will be filled with UW’s three-point shooting, it was Wisconsin’s dominance inside that really proved to be the difference. Proving he can still do it all, senior guard Jordan Taylor had his best performance of the season, finishing with 18 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds. Between Taylor and Brust, the Badgers outscored BYU guards 39-6, playing a pivotal role in the outcome. Brust, Taylor, and Berggren rode their respective performances to spots on the all-tournament team, with Taylor picking up the trophy as the Tournament MVP. “They were a bit more extended then I thought they would be…” Taylor said. “But we got the win and that’s what is important.” Although the final score was lopsided, Saturday’s win was anything but easy. After the Badgers stormed out of the gates to a 22-10 lead, BYU (4-2, 0-0) came right back with an 18-4 run of their own. Brust’s first three eventually got UW into the locker room with a two-point lead, but after a few more minutes of back and forth play, that Brust-led run put the Badgers in control and sent the game quickly on its way to a lopsided conclusion. “Its fun to play with a guy like {Brust},” Taylor added. “But he’s not the only guy we’ve got who is like that.” Now having passed their first test with flying colors, the Badgers now must quickly prepare for arguably their most difficult matchup of the year. Wednesday night’s matchup against top-ranked North Carolina already had plenty of hype and with Wisconsin now destined for a top 10 position in the polls, that hype will only grow as tip off nears.

Badgers Take Down Bradley, Set for Showdown with BYU

Continuing to take care of their early season business, #11 Wisconsin (5-0, 0-0) got away with sloppy play at times en route to a 66-43 victory over Bradley Friday night in the semifinals of the Chicago Invitational Tournament. Junior forward Ryan Evans scored a career-high 15 points in the victory, joining guard Josh Gasser and Jordan Taylor for the team high. Evans also added 8 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks. Bradley (3-2) was paced by senior forward Taylor Brown, who led all scorers with 18 points on 8-of-20 shooting, picking up 9 rebounds as well. Still, UW did not take care of the ball as well as Badger fans have become accustomed to. Wisconsin turned the ball over 10 times, their first game with double digits in that category. Taylor had an uncharacteristically shaky night with the ball, turning the ball over four times to double his season total in already the fifth game of the young season. But UW still won the turnover battle, forcing the Braves into 17 turnovers of their own. The Badgers also showed an ability to hang with Bradley athletically, matching the Braves step for step on the fast break and notching 18 points off those turnovers. Next on tap for UW is BYU, a fellow Sweet 16 team from last season that returns most of its core, the exception being National Player of the Year Jimmer Fredette. But the Cougars are benefitting from the return of forward Brandon Davies, whose controversial suspension last season really hurt BYU's title hopes. The Cougars come into Saturday off of a 76-55 win over Nevada and are by far the biggest test the Badgers have faced thus far. Saturday also marks the beginning of a five game stretch in which the Badgers will face four teams that reached the NCAA Tournament last season, with the BYU game followed by a date with #1 North Carolina, followed up finally with home games against Marquette and UNLV. Certainly the big wins have given Badger fans something to be excited about, but until UW gets through this stretch, its hard to tell what the season truly has in store.