?Big Ten Champions.?
That was the chant from the crowd of students that flooded
the floor after the final buzzer. That was the message the Kohl Center video
board boldly proclaimed. That?s what the Wisconsin Badgers are.
?It?s absolutely awesome. Point blank. ? This is why we
play,? Brian Butch said.
?It?s just as good the third time,? head coach Bo Ryan said
to the roaring approval of the frenzied mass of fans.
?This team, they truly are a team,? UW Athletic Director
Barry Alvarez said as Michael Flowers darted around the court, showing off his
championship T-shirt while his fellow seniors took turns being hoisted on the
shoulders of the celebrating fans. ?No individual stars. I think the coaching
staff did a terrific job of coaching. ? That?s why they?re champions.?
In complete control of its destiny in the Big Ten
championship picture after Purdue lost to Ohio State Tuesday, Wisconsin
emphatically took care of business Wednesday night, scoring a 77-44 win over
Penn State on Senior Night at the Kohl Center to clinch at least a share of the
conference crown for the third time since Ryan arrived in Madison seven years
ago and the 17th time in school history.
?I think it still kind of seems surreal,? center Greg
Stiemsma said after the team had cut down the net. ?I don?t know if it is fate
or what it is.?
The way the Badgers have been playing of late, fate has
nothing to do with it. Wisconsin is peaking at the perfect time, playing its
best basketball at the end of the season when it is paramount to do so, and
performing at as high a level as any team in the country.
With a win over Northwestern Saturday, the Badgers can
clinch the outright title.
?They keep playing like they have, they can go a long way (in
the NCAA tournament),? Alvarez said.
?I thought they?d be good, but to win the championship, no.?
This one was never close. The Badgers raced to a 34-17
halftime lead over the Nittany Lions and extended it to as many as 37 points in
the second half thanks to an early 14-3 spurt that got the offense going again
and coasted the rest of the way to a blowout victory.
The score was tied 7-7 a little more than three minutes into
the game after Penn State?s Andrew Jones converted a jumper. But from that
point on, the Badgers would more than double the Nittany Lions, outscoring Penn
State 70-34 over the final 36 minutes. It was perhaps UW?s best game of the
season.
Wisconsin first put some real distance between itself and
Penn State with a 12 minute 20-5 run that pushed the lead to 27-12 with 4:46
left in the first half that was capped by a Flowers 3-pointer off an assist
from Trevon Hughes.
It was only fitting that on Senior Night, UW?s seniors keyed
the run, as Flowers, Butch and Stiemsma combined to score 14 of the 20 points.
Stiemsma scored six of his season-high 10 points in the run,
including a vicious dunk off one of Flowers? game-high nine assists.
After the Nittany Lions cut the lead back to 10 points at
27-17, the Badgers closed out the half scoring seven unanswered points to take
all the momentum with them into halftime.
Marcus Landry helped put the game totally out of reach at
the beginning of the second half, scoring eight points and grabbing two
rebounds in the first six minutes as UW extended its lead to 28 points after a
14-3 run.
?Those are the types of starts I like to have,? Landry said.
?Every game, whether it?s defensively or offensively, I think I can contribute
to the team in a lot of different ways. The start we had wasn?t just from me,
it was from the whole team.?
As the final minute ran off the clock, the only suspense
left resided in whether or not the Grateful Red would join the championship
celebration by rushing the floor.
The students did, and Big Ten Deputy Commissioner Brad
Traviolia presented the Badgers with the conference championship trophy, a new
toy Wisconsin has no intention of letting anyone else enjoy.
?You never want to share anything. It?s never fun,? Butch
said.
