[media-credit name=’RAY PFEIFFER/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]It wasn't Willis Reed walking out to the Madison Square Garden floor before game seven of the 1970 NBA finals, but it's undeniable that when Alando Tucker returned to the floor with 5:50 remaining in the first half after sustaining an eye injury that he made a difference.

Wisconsin defeated Florida State 81-66 in front of a full house at the Kohl Center Tuesday night, powered by a 10-2 run late in the first half that was sparked by a Tucker three-pointer, fresh out of the locker room.

"It went from three to 11. That was the key, that was the crucial part of the game," Ryan said, adding that Tucker's returning to the floor was a momentum shift. "That was huge, and we got a couple other buckets, too."

"Everything just started to click for us at that point," senior point guard Kammron Taylor said.

After Tucker hit his three, the Badgers began to pull away and the late burst was punctuated with the team's fourth first-half buzzer beater of the season as Brian Butch tipped in a prayer by Tucker as time expired to give UW a 34-23 lead at the break.

"That was the way that coach set up that play," Butch deadpanned on the last-second basket. "To go in with that, we all go in with the mindset that we've got this [game] under control."

Wisconsin limited FSU to only 23 points in the first half, forcing 14 turnovers.

"I thought that the 14 turnovers in the first half dug ourselves in a hole and made it very difficult to get out of," Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton said. "They had too much execution for us tonight, and I thought that we turned the ball over and missed some easy opportunities."

All the stars came out to shine for the Badgers (6-1, 0-0 Big Ten) as Tucker (22), Taylor (18) and Butch (13) all scored in double figures for UW, while the Seminoles (4-2, 0-0 ACC) were led by Toney Douglas's game-high 24 points.

After 2:45 of scoreless play to open the game, Wisconsin drew first blood on a Butch tip-in and then went on to take a quick 9-0 lead.

The Badgers had a scare when, midway into the period, Tucker was swiped in the right eye by Douglas, causing the senior forward to drop the ball and grab his face, leading to a fast-break dunk for FSU's Al Thornton, while Tucker lay on the floor at the other end.

UW's leading scorer was briskly ushered into the locker room only to reappear about four minutes later, checking back into the game and hitting a three-pointer on his first shot attempt.

Tucker continued to look no worse for the wear in the second half as he scored 12 points and continued to give the FSU defense fits.

"That's him," Taylor said. "He takes a little nick in the first half, and he goes back to work after that. That just shows his toughness, and that just leaks down into the team."

Florida State picked up the pace late, pressing for much of the second half and forcing seven turnovers in the last 5:41.

"The last five minutes were a little different," Ryan said. "It just got into a rat game."

"Those last six minutes there, they went on a little bit of a run," sophomore forward Joe Krabbenhoft said. "But other than that, I think we played well."

Krabbenhoft again provided a spark for the Badgers, playing 16 inspired minutes, scoring seven points and pulling down a team-high six rebounds.

Krabbenhoft wasn't the only bench player to pull through for UW, either, as the Wisconsin reserves outscored Florida State's 21-8.

"It took a lot out of us trying to fight the big guys inside," Hamilton said. "It takes a toll on you. … I'm not so sure had we been executing better, though, that we would've minimized the effectiveness of their depth. I think the culprit was more the 21 turnovers than it was their depth."