If one thing is for certain when playing against a Bo Ryan-coached team, it’s that once you get down, you shouldn’t plan on coming back.

This was exactly the case in the No. 3 Wisconsin men’s basketball team’s 78-54 victory over Boise State Saturday night.

The Badgers (4-0) went into the locker room with a 38-24 lead thanks in large part to their sharp shooting performance and strong team defense.

Despite the margin to end the half, Boise State actually hung around for most of the first half, finding themselves down only four with just over five minutes remaining. However, the Badgers were able to kick it up a notch before they headed into the locker room and finished the half on a 16-6 run.

“It just means each team has found a way to get some things done, or one team maybe a little bit better than the other,” Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan said. “Then, it’s just a matter of the rest of the possessions, who is going to get the upper hand? We managed on the rest of the possessions to get the upper hand.”

The Broncos started the game very aggressively on the defensive end and as a result the Badgers found themselves shooting a high volume of outside shots.

Boise State forced Wisconsin into shooting three-point shots on seven of their first 10 field goal attempts, but the Badgers didn’t mind, as they shot 54.5 percent (6-for-11) from behind the arc in the first half. Overall, Wisconsin shot 15-for-24 (62.5 percent) from the field in the first half of play — a season high for the team through their first four games of the season.

UW’s sharp shooting was lead by senior forward Frank Kaminsky. The preseason All-American was unstoppable in the first half, shooting 7-for-7 from the field and 3-for-3 from the three-point line on his way to a dominant 17-point half.

“Frank just keeps playing, just keeps working at it every day,” Ryan said. “It’s just an example of a guy being committed to what he’s doing.

While the Broncos forced the Badgers into tough shots, the Badgers were doing the same on defense. The only difference was that Boise State’s shots weren’t going in.

The Broncos shot a poor 10-for-27 (37 percent) from the field and 2-for-5 (40 percent) from beyond the arc in the first half. Boise State’s struggles were highlighted by the struggles of their leading scorer, senior forward Anthony Drmic, who came into Saturday’s matchup averaging 20.7 points per game.

Drmic finished the first half shooting 1-for-7 (14.3 percent) from the field and finished with only two points. As shown Saturday, Drmic is very valuable to Boise State’s offense, and Wisconsin keeping him in check played a huge role in establishing a strong lead going into the second half.

“When guys get Anthony shots, he’ll make them and that’s something we have to get a lot better at,” Boise State head coach Leon Rice said. “Credit Wisconsin’s defense, no question, we knew they would be locked in to guard Anthony.”

The second half was more of the same. While Wisconsin didn’t have the same success shooting the ball, they refused to allow Boise State to creep any closer.

Wisconsin had another strong defensive effort in shutting down Drmic, who finished the game with a season-low seven points on 3-of-10 (33.3 percent) shooting from the field.

With Drmic unable to get anything going throughout the night, it just made it easier for the Badgers and all the more difficult for the Broncos as Wisconsin’s lead continued to grow.

“He’s a good player, and fortunately he didn’t go off on us,” Ryan said. “Anytime you can hold that guy to 3-of-10 [shooting], seven points, that’s a good day for our defense.

Offensively, as the Broncos struggles continued, the Badgers slowly but surely continued to pour it on in the second half, and they were once again led by Kaminsky’s refusal to miss.

While Kaminsky wasn’t perfect in the second half, he was still as efficient. The senior ended the game shooting 11-for-13 (84.6 percent) overall from the field and 4-for-5 (80 percent) from three, en route to a 26-point performance.

“His teammates can count on him,” Ryan said of Kaminsky. “It’s nice to have a big who can pass, who can make good decisions, who can help defensively. So his all around game just keeps getting better.”

Sophomore forward Nigel Hayes and senior guard Traevon Jackson were the only other Badgers to finish in double figures. Junior forward Sam Dekker finished with just four points on 2-of-4 shooting.

Saturday night’s performance personified the idea that Wisconsin can beat you in a multitude of ways, making them a matchup nightmare on both sides of the court for teams going forward.

“It’s a bit of a pick your poison,” Rice said. “When you pick your poison on a good team, they’re going to make you swallow it.”