SPORTS
Signature weekend for Wisconsin
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by Michael Poppy
Monday, January 29, 2007
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Contrary to what the cover of the Nov. 22 edition of Sports Illustrated said, it was Alando Tucker and his sidekick Brian Butch paving the way in No. 2 Wisconsin's 57-46 win over Iowa Sunday.
Tucker scored a game-high 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting and Butch chipped in a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds as the Badgers won their 17th straight game to remain undefeated on the road.
Wisconsin (21-1 overall, 7-0 Big Ten), led by as many as 11 points in the first half before Iowa (11-10, 3-4) trimmed the lead to four just before halftime. At the start of the second half, Butch caught fire shooting the ball after listening to head coach Bo Ryan's advice.
"I told Butch at halftime something my old coach used to say to me. I said, 'Just shoot the ball,'" Ryan said. "I think he finally got it. … He went out in the second half a lot more confident and a lot more active."
Butch hit a jumper off of a flare screen and then put back a Kammron Taylor three-pointer on Wisconsin's first two possessions. Later in the second half, Butch knocked down two three-pointers on back-to-back Wisconsin possessions.
"Brian Butch stepped up big in the second half and knocked down some threes," said Taylor, who finished with five points and five assists. "That really gave a boost to our team."
Nevertheless, Iowa continued to remain within striking distance, cutting Wisconsin's lead to as little as four points at 45-41 with less than eight minutes to play.
Sophomore forward Marcus Landry also gave the Badgers a lift, recording eight points and seven rebounds off the bench.
"Marcus steps up in the big games, too. He's just like me," Tucker said. "He's a little Tucker."
Adam Haluska, a preseason All-Big Ten selection, kept the Hawkeyes in the game by getting to the free throw line, but struggled mightily with his shot as he was just 3-for-18 from the field. To make matters worse, Iowa's second leading scorer, freshman forward Tyler Smith, didn't score a single first-half point and finished with eight points on 3-of-17 shooting.
"We picked a tough night not to make shots," said Iowa head coach Steve Alford. "Some of that was bad shots and some was Wisconsin's defense."
Haluska, who came into Sunday's contest averaging 20.3 points per game, was hounded by Wisconsin's Michael Flowers and Joe Krabbenhoft on defense and saw plenty of double-teams come his way.
"As good as a conditioned athlete as he is, we had to use two guys [on Haluska], plus some other help," Ryan said. "He was a handful and had some shots that I know he'd like to have back, but they just didn't go down."
Smith, on the other hand, was guarded by Wisconsin's Tucker. Usually not known for his defense, Tucker complemented his offensive game Sunday by sticking it to Smith.
"A lot of times my offense overshadows my defense," Tucker said. "My defense goes overlooked, but I really wanted to make sure I did a really good job on [Smith]."
Tucker was playing with a completely healed shooting hand for the first time since Jan. 9 after injuring his thumb against Ohio State and it showed as he shot 79 percent from the field against Iowa.
"[Sunday] was the first day I played without the taping on my thumb so it felt good," Tucker said. "And I actually put in a lot of time before this game because I wanted to get rhythm back, my feel with holding my follow-through on my shot, but it was just a little dink."
Now having completed about half of the Big Ten schedule, Alford thinks Wisconsin is head and shoulders above the conference, especially if Butch plays like he did Sunday.
"I think if [Butch] becomes that consistent third scorer, [Wisconsin's] got a chance to really advance deep into the tournament," he said. "They're the class of our league right now and anytime they can get [Butch] doing the things that he does, that's only a plus."
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