In a game where head coach Bo Ryan made his first switch to the starting lineup in over a year, the Wisconsin Badgers (5-1) moved past UNLV (5-1) 91-74 Saturday afternoon at the Kohl Center.

Alando Tucker received his first career start at center, and the freshman did everything to impress, finishing with 18 rebounds and 24 points. Tucker was dominant on the offensive boards, bringing down 11 off the glass.

“He had earned that opportunity, especially against a team like this,” Ryan said. “I never make a big deal out of it. I don’t usually change situations, but this was warranted. He was active, and activity creates some good things.”

The Badgers made their push in the middle of the first half, finding easy shots in the post while making easy moves to the basket. UW was able to spread the scoring around all afternoon, as all five starters scored 15 points or more.

“We weren’t exactly lighting it up from the three,” Ryan said. “But we were getting to the paint, and getting the post feeds, and we were getting to the free-throw line. That’s just good basketball.”

Sophomore guard Devin Harris did a phenomenal job defending UNLV star guard Marcus Banks. Banks came in to the game averaging more than 23 points per contest but only managed seven points on 2-of-12 shooting while being plagued with fouls.

“They dictated the tempo of the game,” UNLV coach Charlie Spoonhour said. “They didn’t let us run and they had an idea of what they were going to do offensively, and they did it. We couldn’t stop them from running what they wanted to run. That’s the mark of a good team.”

Harris, who had a little bit of his own foul trouble, scored 20 points while having to sit for more than seven minutes of the later part of the second half.

“I’m not used to that,” said Harris. “It just balled up all my energy.”

The Running Rebels were able to cut the UW lead to five on two occasions in the second half — 73-68 with 6:55 to go and 77-72 with 5:26 left. But the energized Harris came back off the bench to key the Badgers to victory in the game’s final three minutes, scoring six points during the stretch, while Tucker contributed six more of his own.

Kirk Penney had a somewhat difficult night, shooting only five of 18 but managing 17 points. However, the senior captain was able to bring down seven rebounds while contributing three assists.

“If [Penney’s] not shooting the ball well, there’s plenty of other players on the team to step up and score, and we all rebound,” forward Mike Wilkinson said. “If one of us has a bad game, we pick each other up. We had five guys in double figures; it was a team effort today.”

Wilkinson tallied a double-double for the Badgers, scoring 15 while pulling down 10 rebounds. Junior Freddie Owens also contributed 15 points, while hitting all eight of his free throws.

After a poor free-throw shooting night against Wake Forest last Wednesday, the Badgers did little to disprove their doubters, only hitting 70 percent of their free throws as a team.

Fortunately for Wisconsin, the Rebels were in foul trouble for most of the afternoon, committing 28 fouls as a team, crippling any pressure UNLV could employ.

“You get in foul trouble because you foul,” Spoonhour said. “We were our own enemy today, too. Wisconsin was very good, Wisconsin beat us, Wisconsin was organized, played better, and we didn’t do anything to stop it.”

While the Badgers’ starting five all totaled double figures, the bench did not score a point. Boo Wade was the only member of the Badger bench to take a shot, as he was 0-1 on the day with six turnovers. It was the first time since a 65-62 loss at Michigan in 1991 that a UW reserve did not score.

The Badger win puts the team only one week away from their visit to Milwaukee to play in-state rival Marquette. Before Saturday, the Badgers square off against New Hampshire on Wednesday at the Kohl Center. For Bo Ryan, the only game that matters is the next on the schedule.

“[Marquette] won’t come up in any conversation on Monday or Tuesday,” Ryan said. “What [the players] talk about in the locker room when I’m not around, I don’t know.”

“He won’t even mention Saturday,” Harris said of Ryan. “We’re not overlooking anybody. We’re just looking forward to getting back to practice on Monday.”