[media-credit name=’JEFF SCHORFHEIDE/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]MILWAUKEE — It's nothing new that Alando Tucker might have stolen the show and the spotlight with his 28 points Saturday in front of a national television audience. However, no one could've expected two of Wisconsin's young bench players to shine much in same way on the big stage, but that's exactly what happened.

Sophomore forward Marcus Landry and freshman point guard Trevon Hughes stepped off the bench, out of the shadows (at least nationally) and onto the court of the Bradley Center, each turning in not only productive but also crucial minutes for Wisconsin, especially on the defensive end of the floor.

"Those guys came in and did a nice job, especially Landry," Golden Eagles coach Tom Crean said. "I'm sure [the Badgers] would bottle that up and take it with them if they knew they were going to get that out of him."

Landry, whose worth was proven when the Badgers went 5-10 down the stretch last year without the Milwaukee Vincent graduate, was an electric performer, scoring 11 points, collecting four rebounds and dishing out two assists.

"Offensively, Landry did a great job coming off the bench," Marquette guard Jerel McNeal said. "Our coaches knew he would come in and be a presence. He was definitely a spark for them."

"I guess the adrenaline was just flowing," Landry said. "I try to do this every game."

Landry was most impressive on the defensive end, however, rejecting Marquette shots a career-high four times, often with jaw-dropping athleticism.

"Marcus today, he had a couple unbelievable blocks that saved our guards. Marcus was just getting those hustle plays," UW senior guard Kammron Taylor said, before describing one particularly impressive second-half swat.

"One play that definitely stands out is when he takes a man down the court, and he swung with one and his man reversed it, and he blocked it with the other hand. It's good just to have that energy."

The high-flying Landry might've had to deal with a TV dinner for his effort, however, as his wife Efueko Osagie-Landry is a senior on Marquette's women's basketball team.

"I thought Marcus was focused," said UW head coach Bo Ryan.

Hughes' numbers in the stat sheet weren't as eye-catching as Landry's, tallying only two points, but the freshman from Queens, N.Y., raked in the hustle stats with five rebounds — despite being 6-foot-0 — and three steals, playing lockdown perimeter defense.

"For him to come in and take care of the ball and do some of the things that he did — get some steals, some deflections — that was huge," Ryan said.

The first-year player was also on the floor a career-high 18 minutes and had only played double-digit minutes once this season (16 versus Southern). Much of that has been due to the impressive play of fellow freshman point guard Jason Bohannon — who didn't even check in Saturday, the first time in his young career he hadn't seen any playing time.

"It's not that Jason Bohannon is not going to be out there," Ryan said of Bohannon, who had been averaging 17 minutes a game heading into the grudge match. "Call it gut feeling … I just thought Trevon in this type of game … is a guy who would stick his nose in there and stay with his feet."

Ryan's hunch paid off, and neither he nor the UW players were surprised by Hughes' game.

"He has so much potential," Tucker said. "And he doesn't even realize it yet and that's what Coach Ryan is bringing out of him, and you can see it … He's going to be a great player."

Both Landry and Hughes impressed each other with their breakout games of 2006. "Trevon played a heck of a game today," Landry said. "I'm really proud of him being a freshman in a big game like this coming in and stepping it up."

"Marcus played great," Hughes said. "He was all over the place with the hustle plays — swatting shots and making everything around the basket."

The impact the pair of reserves had on the defensive end of the court wasn't just key in holding Marquette to only 66 points (despite 22 UW turnovers), but also helped pump up the Badgers with each show-stopping play.

"You could definitely see that the team was feeding on that," Hughes said. "It's one thing to get a stop, but to do it with a block or a steal, that can get a team's blood going. It's exciting."