[media-credit name=’JAKE NAUGHTON/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]

On their third consecutive day with a game, the UW men's
basketball team played the closest game of the three and still walked away with
a 78-52 victory over Colorado to take home the championship trophy Saturday in
the America's Youth Classic.

Trevon Hughes led the way for the Badgers, scoring 18 points
en route to being named the tournament's MVP. The sophomore guard also finished
with six boards, three assists and three steals in the finale of what had been
a sensational tournament for the first-year starter.

"I'm happy to help out the team," Hughes said. "We all
contributed today.

"We were just hitting our shots."

Wisconsin used an early run to take a double-digit lead and
never looked back. For the game, UW shot an impressive 55 percent from the
field.

Colorado executed a Princeton-style offense highlighted by
backdoor cuts, but the Wisconsin defense was ready for it and had little
trouble shutting down the Buffaloes for most of the game.

Greg Stiemsma was especially critical in the defensive
stand, finishing the game with five blocks — including a span of three
possessions with a block against the much smaller opponent.

"Greg was a part of everything we did and he's chomping at
the bit for these teams that have the bigger guys," head coach Bo Ryan said.
"He's a force inside."

"He times it perfectly," forward Brian Butch said of
Stiemsma's blocking abilities. "Knowing you have a presence down low … gives
our guards a chance to get out there and pressure a little more."

In the second half Colorado picked up their offense, but the
17-point halftime margin was too tough to overcome, allowing Wisconsin to win
their third and final game of the tournament.

Wisconsin finished with three players — Hughes, Butch and
forward Marcus Landry — as members of the all-tournament team and now stands at
4-0 on the season, a good start in Ryan's mind.

"I liked the way we picked each other up, I like the way
guys came off the bench," Ryan said. "That's what you like to see four games
into the season."

On Friday it was another strong defensive effort that led to
an easy 88-40 victory. The Wisconsin defense forced 23 Rattler turnovers, and
the Badgers out-rebounded FAMU 48 to 21. Possibly the most impressive aspect of
UW's performance Friday night, however, was something that doesn't show up on
the stat sheet: unselfish play.

"We moved it so well that at times, it looked easy," Ryan
said. "I really like the way [we] shared the ball."

The Badgers' efficient ball movement came against the
Rattlers' 2-3 zone, a defense that most teams in the Big Ten do not play.

"The thing about the game of basketball is it never
changes," Landry said. "Anything a team throws at you, it's probably something
you've seen before, so being able to handle different things like that says a
lot about our team. It shows how we're able to adjust day-to-day playing
different types of teams."

Landry finished the game tied with sophomore Jason Bohannon
for a team-best 17 points on an impressive seven-of-nine from the field,
including two-of-four from three-point range.

Hughes continued his strong early-season play running the
point, finishing with 10 points and four assists.

Junior guard Joe Krabbenhoft finished the game with only two
points, but grabbed 10 rebounds to go along with four assists and a steal.

"He only scored two points?" Ryan asked of Krabbenhoft. "I
didn't even know that. He did all the other things; that's why he's a player. "

Much of the reason for the lopsided margin of victory was
the Badgers' control of the glass, especially on the offensive side of the
floor as they snagged 20 offensive boards compared to the Rattlers' four.

"One of the things that we always stress on, no matter who
the team is, is to get offensive rebounds," Landry noted. "We were definitely
bigger than them, so we took advantage of that."

Ryan was happy, but not overly impressed with the stat.

"We were there, in position [for offensive rebounds]," Ryan
explained. "They're not the same size as a lot of teams we’re going to play.
You just got to look at it, take it for what its worth, but we need to get more
out of those opportunities. We got something; we just need to do it more."