UW MEN'S BASKETBALL: Badgers recover from slow start, top Michigan State
1:45 AM 1/11/04

Wisconsin State JournalBo Ryan could admit to it after the University of Wisconsin's 77-64 come-from-behind victory over Michigan State Saturday at the Kohl Center. <

His blood pressure was soaring along the sideline, but the UW men's basketball coach knew it was no time to demonstrate worry. <

Michigan State, using a four-guard offense, had made its first eight shots and jumped to a 17-5 lead over the 21st-ranked Badgers in the nationally televised game's first 4 minutes, 57 seconds. <

But the UW players remained calm, cool and collected. From that point, the back-to-back Big Ten Conference champion Badgers (11-2 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) blitzed preseason favorite Michigan State with a 36-14 run, taking a commanding 10-point margin into halftime. <

"They just came out shooting the ball extremely well," UW point guard Devin Harris said. "They hit open shots. ... We weren't really that aggressive early, so they got off to an early start. But it's nothing to panic about because we know our shots are going to fall, especially playing at home. It's that aggressiveness that we get from the crowd and everything; we knew we were going to come back. It's all patience and taking one possession at a time." <

The Badgers, led by reserves Clayton Hanson and Ray Nixon, turned aggressive and erased the early 12-point deficit with a 13-0 run, holding Michigan State scoreless for 6:36. A 9-0 run resulted in a 29-22 lead for UW; a 37-27 advantage was built on the strength of seven straight made shots by the Badgers; and a 7-0 run to start the second half put the Spartans (5-7, 0-1) into a 17-point hole from which they couldn't recover. <

"We just knew we had to stay focused and ... run our offense and stay calm and it eventually would come to us," UW guard Boo Wade said. <

What came for UW before the sellout crowd of 17,142 was a 22nd consecutive home victory, including nine this season. Harris led the way with his game-high 21 points, while Wade added a career-high 15 points and matched his career-best in rebounds with a game-high six, with all the rebounds coming in the first half. UW used three reserves who contributed 28 points - Zach Morley had 13, Hanson added nine (including six during the key 13-0 run) and Nixon six. <

"They didn't get down," Ryan said. "I hate to even look at it as a comeback, but I guess that's the term you have to put on it. We just started to execute. (It was like) the first time I can remember teaching one of my kids to drive a stick shift and, boy, that's what it sounded like. Just grinding gears and not going anywhere. ... Finally, we let the clutch out and put it in gear. It was nice to see." <

It also helped that Michigan State center Paul Davis picked up two fouls and played only 7 minutes of the first half. <

"He's a force down low," Morley said. "Getting him in foul trouble really hurt them because their offense goes through him." <

"We were off to a great start," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "I thought we played some of our best defense early. Forget the offensive part of it. We were active, we were digging, we were getting turnovers, we were playing with some aggressiveness. Then we got a little tired, we got in a little foul trouble. When we made some substitutions I think it hurt us, but in Paul's case we had no choice. Then we made some turnovers that led directly to some baskets in that one stretch." <

The Spartans committed 27 fouls, which led to UW making 24 of 35 free throws. Michigan State was 13-for-13, a discrepancy that frustrated Izzo. <

"For us to shoot 50 percent from the field, 50 percent from the '3' and 100 percent from the line is good, but to have a thousand less free throws isn't good, and that was a big factor," Izzo said. "We did not check well enough again. I thought we made improvements in ways, but not good enough to beat a very good team here. And they are a very good team."