Boxscore The No. 22 nationally-ranked Wisconsin Badgers showed why they have won 27 consecutive non-conference games in the Kohl Center when they defeated a weary Louisiana Tech team 78-52 before a 53rd straight sell-out crowd of 17,142 in Madison, Wisc., tonight.
Wisconsin (10-1) improved to 65-3 at home under head coach Bo Ryan, which is the fifth best home record in the NCAA in the last five years, as the Bulldogs fell to 7-6 on the season but will enter Western Athletic Conference play with a winning record.
The Badgers scored the first eight points of the game before junior forward
Paul Millsap was fouled and made one of two free throws to put Tech on the scoreboard down 8-1.
Wisconsin?s hot shooting extended its lead to 12-3 at the first media timeout at 16:33. The Badgers out-rebounded Tech 5-1 in that stretch and the Badgers made six of their first seven shots while holding Tech to one-of-five from the field, which proved to be the theme of the entire game.
Wisconsin shot 53.4 percent for the game (31-58) compared to Tech?s 31.3 percent (20-64), and the Badgers out-rebounded the Bulldogs 44-33.
Wisconsin?s height at forward posed shooting, rebounding and match-up problems for the Bulldogs all night, as the Badgers? starting forwards stood 6-11, 6-10 and 6-7.
Millsap finished with 16 points and a career-low five rebounds. Senior forward
Michael Wilds had nine points, followed by junior guard
Marcus Elliott?s seven points and junior forward
Chad McKenzie?s six points.
The Badgers were the third Top 25 team Tech has faced on the road. The Bulldogs played then No. 18 Alabama and No. 4 Memphis earlier in the season and still have No. 20 Nevada on the conference slate.
The 26-point deficit was the largest loss for the Bulldogs this season, but much of Tech?s lack of energy should be attributed to travel problems.
The Bulldogs left Ruston, La., yesterday at 1:30 p.m., arrived in Dallas at 6 p.m. and were scheduled to take a direct flight to Madison, Wisc., for arrival in their hotel at 9:15 p.m.
However, fog and harsh weather conditions in Wisconsin prevented Tech from flying from Dallas to Madison, and the Bulldogs were forced to sleep in a hotel in Dallas last night.
The team woke up at 3:30 a.m. this morning, caught a 6 a.m. flight to Chicago and endured a two and a half hour lay-over before finally boarding a plane and arriving in Madison around noon today.
Tech head coach Keith Richard decided not to have practice before facing the No. 22 nationally-ranked Badgers. He knew his team would be operating on approximately four hours of sleep and opted to allow the Bulldogs to rest.
It didn?t take long for the weariness to overcome the adrenaline, and Richard noted the effect the travel woes had on his squad.
?We were a step slow all night,? Richard said. ?We needed to make shots from the perimeter to stay in the game, and we simply didn?t make enough. Their size bothered us all night, and it was a difficult game offensively. If you can?t score, you won?t win many games.?
Tech?s next contest will be in the WAC opener on Jan. 5 at Boise State, and Richard said his team must move on to begin a blank record in conference standings.
?We have to move on from this loss quickly,? Richard said. ?We?ll have to go to work next week and prepare for the conference opener in Boise.?
