Wilkinson, Badgers beat Buckeyes
Published 12:00 am Friday, January 14, 2005
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Mike Wilkinson scored a career-high 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to help Wisconsin beat Ohio State 72-66 Tuesday night, extending the nation's longest home winning streak to 37 games.
Clayton Hanson added 14 points and Sharif Chambliss had 11, and the Badgers (11-3, 2-1 Big Ten) won without leading scorer Alando Tucker, who sat out with an injured right foot suffered in practice Sunday.
Tucker's status was listed as day-to-day. School officials said the problem wasn't related to a right foot injury that caused Tucker to use a medical redshirt after he missed all but four games last season.
Terence Dials scored 15 points and Matt Sylvester added 14 for Ohio State (12-4, 1-2).
Wisconsin, which improved to 25-0 in Big Ten home games under coach Bo Ryan, took control of the game with a 26-9 run that stretched over both halves.
The Badgers led by as many as 13 points in the second half, but Ohio State used a 10-3 run to cut Wisconsin's lead to 61-57 with 2:42 remaining after a basket by J.J. Sullinger.
Wilkinson answered with a 3-pointer with 2:08 left and Wisconsin's Kammron Taylor hit a free throw to give the Badgers a 65-57 lead with 1:41 left.
But Ohio State scored the next four points, including a 3-pointer by Sylvester, to pull within 65-61 with 55 seconds left.
Hanson was 5-of-6 from the free-throw line in the final 45 seconds as the Badgers held off the Buckeyes.
Dials scored 10 points in the opening 7:40 but spent much of the rest of the game in foul trouble. He sat out the final 6:08 of the first half after picking up his second foul, then committed his third and fourth fouls in the opening 4:14 of the second half. Dials eventually fouled out with 15 seconds left.
Ohio State led most of the first half behind Dials, who scored 10 of the Buckeyes' first 14 points. But Dials didn't score the final 12:20 of the half and Wisconsin used a 16-6 run to take a 31-26 halftime lead. Chambliss sparked the run with a pair of 3-pointers, and Michael Flowers had a tip-in at the buzzer for the Badgers.
The Badgers haven't lost at Kohl Center since Dec. 4, 2002, when Wake Forest beat them 90-80.