That was a beating. In front of a “White Out” crowd at Rec Hall, the Wisconsin Badgers earned their fifth straight victory, dismantling the Penn State Nittany Lions 98-71.
Just like against Rutgers, the Badgers scored another 50-point first half to take control. The Badgers, averaging more than 1.4 points per possession, led by as many as 37 against one of the Big Ten’s weakest defenses.
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Penn State outscored Wisconsin 49-48 in the second half, in part because the Nittany Lions kept their starters while Wisconsin played off the bench.
On offense, the Badgers shot 51 percent from the field, including 43 percent from behind the three-point line. Wisconsin also dominated low in the paint, outscoring Penn State by a surprising margin of 42-18.
Defensively, the Badgers held the Nittany Lions to just 22 points and held Penn State to shoot 24.2 percent in the first half. Needless to say, Greg Gard was impressed with Thursday’s performance.
Many Badgers stood out, but here are three key players from Wisconsin’s win over Penn State.
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Braeden Carrington
Carrington continues to be a spark off the bench for the Badgers. On Thursday, the senior guard scored a team-high 17 points on incredibly efficient 5-of-7 shooting from the field.
In the first half, Carrington made four 3-pointers, including two within 30 feet of the basket. Given his recent contributions, it might be time to consider Carrington’s name for Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year.
nolan winter
Stop me if you’ve heard this: Nolan Winter had another double-double.
The junior forward, who was questionable for this game due to injury, scored 13 points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds. It’s Winter’s ninth double-double of the season, which is the third most in the Big Ten.
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Andres Rohde
Rohde was a big factor at Wisconsin with 25 assists on 36 baskets. The senior guard had six assists, the most on the team that day, and did a great job moving the ball on offense. Rohde also provided some energy when he dove for a loose ball in the first half, cut his chin and returned to the game with a bandage. It was that effort that helped Wisconsin earn its fifth straight conference victory.
Honorable Mention: Jack Robinson
It’s always great when the Badgers have the game almost over and we get to see players like Jack Robison, Isaac Gard and Riccardo Greppi get playing time. Against Penn State, Robison got on the stat sheet by scoring four points and burying his only three-point attempt of the game.