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Tuesday, Dec. 7 8:00pm ET
Kelley makes Big Ten-record 10 steals | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Wisconsin found somebody who could stop Texas 7-footer Chris Mihm. To everybody's surprise, it was 6-foot-3 Mike Kelley. Jon Bryant scored 16 points and Wisconsin's aggressive, unconventional defense baffled Texas' high-powered offense as the Badgers upset the No. 10 Longhorns 61-45 Tuesday night.
Wisconsin is ranked eighth in the nation in total defense, allowing just 55.3 points per game. A game after holding Rhode Island to 25.5 percent shooting in a 66-43 win, the Badgers saw the Longhorns miss their first six shots and finish with 39 percent shooting, including 1-for-10 on 3-pointers. "We were never able to get into the stuff we wanted to do on offense," Mihm said. "It seemed like we were fighting from behind the whole time." Before the season, most thought the Longhorns' biggest weaknesses would be in their perimeter play. That diagnosis was painfully accurate at the Kohl Center, as Texas missed its first seven 3-point attempts and starting guards Ivan Wagner and William Clay combined for just eight points on 3-of-9 shooting and two assists. "We just really had no perimeter game to speak of," Barnes said. Texas started exceptionally slowly, going scoreless in the game's first 4:44 and enduring another first-half scoreless skid of more than six minutes. Though the Badgers weren't shooting much better, they took a 17-4 lead on Travon Davis' 3-pointer midway through the first half. But Texas held Wisconsin scoreless for the next eight minutes while making a 13-0 run. Vershaw's free throws gave the Badgers a 19-17 halftime lead, the lowest first-half point totals for either team this year. Texas briefly led early in the second half, but Wisconsin went on an 18-5 run behind big baskets from Vershaw and Andy Kowske, who finished with 11 points. The Badgers coasted to the victory after Bryant hit a 3-pointer and a long 2-pointer from the corner with five minutes to play. Six of Kelley's steals came in the second half as the Longhorns faded. "I have to say I enjoyed playing with Mike," Wisconsin guard Travon Davis said. "I didn't have to do anything except pick the ball up when he slapped it away." Gabe Muoneke had 12 points and nine rebounds for Texas. | ALSO SEE Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
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