After the Wisconsin football team scored 83 on Saturday there were some in the media that were quick to point out that the basketball team only scored 83 or more once twice season. A mark that the Badger men's basketball team exceeded in game one against Prairie View A&M.In a game that seemed like the tale of two halves as the Badgers routed the Panthers 99-55. After only leading by ten at the break, and allowing the Panthers to crawl to within seven in the second half the Badgers took over.
Late in the second half the Badgers pulled away from Prairie View A&M, but the score was not the impressive part of the game for Wisconsin. The play of freshman Josh Gasser was the impressive part.
Scoring 21 points in his freshman debut Gasser joined an elite group of Badgers. His 21 points is the second highest only to Devin Harris, and just above Rashard Griffin's scoring total from 1993. But leading the way for the Badgers was a familiar face.
As expected senior forward John Leuer led the Badgers with 24 points in 27 minutes. Add in seven rebounds for the big man and you have another typical Leuer performance, but it was his work away from the basket that was the most impressive.
In Leuer's coming out party three years ago it was his play from beyond the arch that dominated Michigan. Against Prairie View A&M Leuer went "old school" from downtown. Knocking down four out of five deep balls that accounted for 12 of his 24 points.
A surprising statistic for the Badgers was the number of times Wisconsin turned the ball over. With 12 turnovers, including three by starting point guard Jordan Taylor, the Badgers showed some rust in their first game of the season. But as we mentioned earlier it was the tale of two halves.
In the second half the Badgers nicked off the rust and eliminated the turnovers. Pulling away from the Panthers and playing like the Bo Ryan team so many Badger fans are used to seeing. A team they will get to see again on Tuesday night against North Dakota.
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