Sitting as the No. 18 ranked team in the AP poll, the Wisconsin Badgers looked to improve their stock among college basketball’s elite in a matchup against the Penn State Nittany Lions Saturday.
Penn State (12-8, 5-4 Big Ten), led by senior guard Talor Battle, overcame a poor shooting performance in the first half and upset their third straight ranked opponent in Happy Valley.
Junior guard Jordan Taylor hit a huge 3-pointer to push the Badgers lead to 22-9 on the way to a comfortable nine-point lead at the intermission. However, the tides suddenly turned in the second half, as Battle poured in 20 of his 22 points to lead the Nittany Lions to a huge 56-52 win over UW.
Wisconsin (15-5, 5-3) initially looked to be on their way to a fourth-consecutive victory in the Big Ten. Senior forward Jon Leuer led the way for UW with 18 points to go along with Taylor’s 16.
The Nittany Lions had dropped 12 consecutive affairs versus Wisconsin, stretching back eight years. UW was poised to extend that streak, but the usually physical Badgers were completely outworked in the second half.
After hitting multiple contested shots in the first half, Leuer and Taylor were suddenly stifled after the break. Penn State outscored UW 39-23 in the second half, and completely shut down the Badgers offense in a victory that may help place Penn State on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament come March.
UW, which holds an 11-0 record at home this season, has seen its fair share of struggles away from Madison.
Notoriously successful at the Kohl Center, the Badgers will need to sort out a few of their kinks away from home if they envision making a serious run over the next few months. The next couple of weeks will be key for the Badgers, who will be looking to impress the NCAA selection committee.
Although the Badgers are known for getting to the foul line, on this afternoon in State College, UW only attempted a disappointing three free throws. In comparison, the Nittany Lions attempted 20 and were clearly propelled to the victory by getting to the charity stripe time and time again. In the defensive minded Big Ten, getting to the line on a consistent basis can be the difference between a win and a loss, and that was evident Saturday.
Another problem was the lack of bench productivity. If the Badgers are going to compete for the Big Ten title, they will need better efforts than being held scoreless against an inconsistent Penn State defense.
Many had expected Wisconsin to continue their recent streak of excellence after easily dismantling a surprisingly talented Northwestern team by 32 points only a week earlier.
Joe Lunardi currently projects six Big Ten teams to make the Big Dance. That number surely may vary, but clearly evident by early season performances, any team can win a conference affair on any given night.
Tonight, Wisconsin takes on No. 11 Purdue (18-4, 7-2) in what surely will be a difficult matchup for the Badgers in Madison. Led by JaJuan Johnson, and E’Twaun Moore, the Boilermakers will look to keep a steady hold on the two spot in Big Ten play.
Many had projected the Boilermakers to make a serious run to the Final Four. Unfortunately, Purdue suffered a huge early letdown in the preseason when star forward Robbie Hummel tore his right ACL for a second consecutive year.
Defying all odds, Purdue has still been one of the top teams nationally, and they will look to hand the Badgers their first home loss of the season.
If the Badgers can play their usual blue-collar basketball–wind down the shot clock, and get to the foul line early and often–UW will have an excellent shot at pulling off the upset.
Despite the fact that conference road victories hold more leeway come March, defeating one of the top teams in the nation at home will surely prove to be a spark for the Badgers after their recent letdown. As the season winds down, every conference matchup down the stretch will be crucial as Wisconsin tries to grab a valuable top seed in the NCAA Tournament.
