[media-credit name=’Patrick Klemz’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Playing without athletic forward Alando Tucker, who missed the game with a right foot injury, the Badgers cruised to a 76-50 victory over Penn State Saturday at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Tucker aggravated a previous foot injury in the second half of Wisconsin’s loss to Illinois Jan. 25 and did not practice in the days leading up to Saturday’s game. The Wisconsin training staff announced Saturday that Tucker would not be available for the game that evening.

Once the game tipped off, however, Tucker’s absence became a distant memory. With their leading scorer watching from the sidelines, the Badgers made a statement on the road after a disappointing loss to Illinois.

“We’ve played without Alando (Tucker) before,” Ryan said. “They know that if we want to be a competitive team, somebody better pick it up. And not just fill the spot, but pick it up and do some good things. So the guys rallied around that and did just fine.”

Ryan stayed with the three-guard lineup, which he introduced against Illinois, allowing sophomore Kammron Taylor to see substantial playing time. Taylor made the most of the opportunity, pouring in a game-high 20 points on 7-14 shooting. The guard rarely left the floor, playing 35 minutes in the win.

“We’ve always said, anyone on this team can step up any night and score,” forward Mike Wilkinson said. “Tonight was a perfect example of it.”

For guard Sharif Chambliss, who played at Penn State for three seasons before transferring to Wisconsin, the return to Pennsylvania was a successful one. Though the 9,142 in attendance booed their former star every time he touched the ball, the UW sniper was unfazed, finishing with seven points, five rebounds and four assists in 29 minutes of action. More importantly, the guard helped Wisconsin pick up a win at the Bryce Jordan Center, where they hadn’t won since 1999.

“We’ve just been getting better and better as the year’s been going on,” Chambliss said. “It’s starting to peak.”

Penn State’s Geary Claxton scored the game’s first basket, a lay-up off a feed from Travis Parker, to give the Nittany Lions a 2-0 lead. It was all Wisconsin the rest of the way.

Andreas Helmigk tied the game with a lay-up, and Taylor put the Badgers in front with a runner off the glass. That was the last time the lead changed hands.

Penn State would tie the game at 8-8 with a three from Travis Parker, but Wisconsin quickly regained the advantage on a deep ball from Wilkinson. After taking the early 11-8 lead, the Badgers never looked back.

Making his second start in three games, Helmigk gave Wisconsin an early lift, scoring six of the Badgers’ first 13 points.

Wisconsin broke the game open at the 9:23 mark, when a 3-pointer from guard Clayton Hanson ignited a 12-0 run that put the Badgers ahead 30-15.

Penn State forward Aaron Johnson provided a glimmer of hope for the Lions, scoring six of his team’s next seven points to bring the score to 34-23 with 3:11 to go.

Then Taylor took over. The sophomore scored Wisconsin’s last seven points to send the Badgers into the locker room with a 41-25 lead. Taylor led the Badgers with 11 points at the break.

Wisconsin came out firing in the second half, pushing the lead to 20 with lay-ups from Chambliss and Wilkinson.

Penn State answered with a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 45-31 with 16:31 remaining. That was as close as the Nittany Lions would come.

Over the next three minutes, the Badgers reestablished an 18-point lead, 53-35, before Jason McDougald slammed home the put-back after a miss from Claxton to breathe some life into the stagnant crowd.

Taylor quieted the Penn State faithful minutes later with an old-fashioned 3-point play to spark a 15-3 run that put the Badgers in front by 27 points, 69-42, with 4:55 remaining.

Ryan emptied the bench for the final three minutes, giving Greg Stiemsma, Jason Chappell and Tanner Bronson an opportunity to close it out.

With one of their top interior scorers sitting out, the Badgers dominated down low, posting a 40-24 advantage in points in the paint. Wisconsin also earned a 21-5 edge in bench scoring with Tucker out, as head coach Bo Ryan cycled through every available player in the victory.