The Wisconsin men’s basketball team improved its record to 6-1 by dominating the New Hampshire Wildcats 85-36 in front of 16,383 fans at the Kohl Center Wednesday night. From the opening tip, it was clear that this one was never going to be a contest.
Kirk Penney set the tone on UW’s first possession by firing a perfect backdoor pass to Mike Wilkinson for an easy layup, igniting a 27-4 run by the Badgers over the first nine minutes of the game. Wisconsin used sharp passing to break down UNH’s zone defense, something the Badgers haven’t seen much of this season. Assists set up six of UW’s first eight baskets.
“We moved the ball extremely well, where there were some wide-open threes available on one pass,” UW head coach Bo Ryan said. “Our guys moved the ball, shot 60 percent against that zone, and that’s good. Again, we didn’t take the first wide-open three. I can only remember a few times where we didn’t touch the post.”
The Badgers’ marksmanship was extremely efficient in the first half, as they hit five three-pointers and shot 20-33 from the field.
On the other side of the ball, New Hampshire tried in vain to pound the ball into the post but was often turned back by UW’s big men. The Wildcats shot just 31.9 percent for the game.
“Give them credit. They were trying to get it in the post,” said Ryan. “They tried to attack the rim. They know what they’re getting ready for. They’re getting ready for their conference (America East) by playing the game the way it should be played.”
From the outset, it was clear the Badgers were simply stronger and faster than the Wildcats.
Although they managed to pull down 14 offensive rebounds, the Wildcats were outscored 44-16 in the paint. The biggest stat of the game, however, was that Wisconsin outscored New Hampshire 20-0 on fast-break points. UW had 16 in the first half, many of which were forced off turnovers, of which New Hampshire had 25 for the game.
“I thought we did a very good job of getting back (on defense),” said Ryan. “[UNH] is capable of pushing it, but we protected the lane well enough in transition. The other thing was, we were taking pretty good shots. There weren’t an awful lot of bricks bouncing off hard, and there were some tough turnovers on [UNH] on passes to guys that fell down.”
Another encouraging sign for UW was production off the bench. With the game well in hand, every player on the roster saw action. Freshman forward Alando Tucker started his second-straight game, recording 10 points, including two spectacular first-half dunks on passes from point guard Devin Harris, and six rebounds. Junior center Dave Mader played 14 minutes, registering eight points and three crowd-raising blocks late in the first half.
Junior guard Ike Ukawuba posted a career high with four points, as did sophomore guard Clayton Hanson with five. All in all, the UW bench contributed 23 points after scoring none against UNLV Saturday.
Freddie Owens led all scorers with 17 points, while Harris added 15. Penney notched 16 points, while also pulling down eight rebounds and dishing out five assists.
Despite cruising to a 49-point win, Owens stressed the significance of the victory.
“[The win] helps us a lot,” he said. “We went out there and executed our offense real well, and we held great defense. It helps a lot going into the game Saturday against Marquette.”
The 49-point difference was the largest winning margin for Wisconsin since the Kohl Center opened and the fourth largest ever. Also, UW’s 16 steals was the second-most ever (17).
Freshman guard Ronnie Dennis led New Hampshire, who dropped to 1-6, with 12 points. Junior center Kyle Peterson, who hails from Malone, Wis., had six points and three rebounds, while New Hampshire’s leading scorer, senior forward Jeff Senulis, didn’t play.
