MADISON, Wis. - The Badgers beat Kennesaw State 85-31 last Thursday, and where the Owls were awful, the Colgate Raiders weren't much better on Wednesday night. The Badgers trounced the Raiders, 68-41, at the Kohl Center, improving to 2-0 on the season, while the Raiders (1-1) picked up their first loss of the season.
Ben Brust led the way for the Badgers, scoring 17 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the behind the arc. The sophomore guard was first off the bench for Wisconsin, and added 2 steals and a few rebounds to help the Badgers lock up their second easy win.
"It's been nice to get out there and get comfortable with the guys, and just keep working forward from here," Brust said following the game.
Through two games this season, Brust has emerged as a legitimate scoring option off the bench for the Badgers. He leads the Badgers in scoring this year with 31 total points and is shooting 50% from behind the arc, going 8-for-16 so far this season.
Senior point guard Jordan Taylor and center Jared Berggren each had nine points and seven rebounds, while Taylor added four assists.
In all, the Badgers were 8-of-14 on three pointers, and added in 32 points in the paint. But Wisconsin's reliance on the jump shot came back to bite the Badgers in the second half. After scoring 42 points in the first half, the Badgers went a full six minutes without scoring. Yet Colgate was only able to narrow the Wisconsin lead to 18 points during the Badgers' rough patch. Head coach Bo Ryan didn't seem too concerned about his team's rough start to the second half, mostly because they were still playing good defense.
"I thought defensively we were doing some good things. Sometimes shots don't go down. That's why you take the [initiative]," Ryan said. "You don't take a minute here, five minutes there. Basketball can be that way sometimes. Sometimes the shots just aren't going."
The Badgers will take on the Wofford Terriers this Saturday at 7 p.m. CST, in the Chicago Invitational Challenge.
Marshall to redshirt 2011 season
After a wavering about whether to sit out the 2011-12 season, freshman guard George Marshall decided to redshirt this season. Marshall would have been stuck in a logjam of guards, and it's obvious he didn't think he would've gotten enough minutes to play this year.
"I just looked at this season and came to the conclusion that a fifth year in this program will be more beneficial than what is potentially a season with limited minutes," Marshall said.
"He can definitely play at this level," associate head coach Greg Gard said Wednesday. "The experience he's going to get going against Jordan Taylor every day in practice ... will be worth as much game experience as he would get this season."
Fellow freshman Jared Uthoff hasn't decided yet whether to redshirt this season, but Ryan said ultimately the decision is in Uthoff's hands.
Wisconsin Superlatives
-- Brust's 17 points are a career high for the sophomore guard.
-- The Badgers shot just 28.6% from the free throw line, making 4 out of 14 attempts.
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