Experienced Duo Knocks Out Wildcats

In a game where Wisconsin's lack of front court experience had everyone nervous, the senior back court said resoundingly, "don't worry 'bout it."

Jason Bohannon used a variety of moves to pull the Badgers even, 27-27, in a slowed-paced first half against Northwestern. Bohannon led all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, in spite of hitting only 1-of-5 on his 3-pointers.

Bohannon then passed the torch to Trevon Hughes. Hughes, apparently unsatisfied with his reputation as an ACC sniper, completely took over down the stretch. After 33 minutes of terrible shooting, Hughes caught fire, turning a three-point deficit into a seven-point lead that #13 Wisconsin (14-3, 4-1) never relinquished. Pop hit five of his last six shots, including 4-of-5 from distance to scratch out a 60-50 road victory in Evanston. [box score]

Both of the seniors played all 40 minutes. Sophomore Jordan Taylor logged 37 minutes in his first start, notching 7 assists and zero turnovers. Hughes led a balanced rebounding effort (each starter grabbed at least five) with 7 boards. Still, the three-guard lineup looked pretty gassed with five minutes to play, especially Taylor. But Bo Ryan's thoughtful timeout before the last media timeout allowed the team to maintain the momentum that Hughes was providing.

Having Hughes and Taylor on the floor together is very comforting when playing a trapping team like Northwestern -- I am not nearly as nervous as I would have been two years ago. This is a game that the team might have let slip away even last year. Hughes' sense of the moment and emotional leadership prevented that from happening.

For a some great new background info on one of tonight's stars, head over to Luke Winn's article at SI.com. It is very insightful, clearing up some common misnomers about the nickname "Pop" and digging a little deeper into Hughes' path to Wisconsin. I found it ironic that a national writer brought some of these items to light (I may have missed it if local articles covered this stuff years ago), so Winn should be applauded for that.

After picking up a huge win versus the Wildcats (12-4, 1-3), the Badgers will prepare for another important road game against red hot Ohio State. Like the Wildcats, the Buckeyes will throw some zone at Wisconsin so this was good preparation for Saturday.

Ohio State (12-5, 2-3) doesn't have much in the big man department either, so you might see roughly the same rotation (ie: no Jared Berggren). Mike Bruesewitz was efficient on the offensive glass, but the three reserves totaled only 18 minutes among them. In the absence of Jon Leuer, fatigue is going to be an increased risk.

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Oh, and this is also awesome: Club Trillion founder Mark Titus strikes mixtape gold. [video]