Wisconsin vs. UAB: Badgers cruise to 72-43 victory in Battle 4 Atlantis opener

The Wisconsin Badgers' trip to the Bahamas is off to a strong start. The Badgers took awhile to settle into the flow of Wednesday's game against UAB in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, but they eventually cruised to a 72-43 victory.

The Badgers met a surging Blazers team that started the half on an 8-4 run, but Wisconsin was able to silence the young team. Beginning at 12:52, UW went on a 26-8 run to end the half.

With UAB’s tallest player being only 6’9, Wisconsin was able to take advantage inside against the Blazers. Frank Kaminsky had 12 points, six rebounds and three blocks in the first half alone. He ended the game as the Badgers' top scorer with 16 points, plus eight rebounds.

The Badgers did a great job of forcing the Blazers into uncomfortable situations through their defense. Wisconsin forced 19 turnovers on the night, out-rebounded UAB 33-31 and had five blocks. While not much stumped the Badgers in the game, Wisconsin struggled to stop UAB’s Robert Brown, who scored 11 of the Blazers' first-half points. The Badgers responded in the second half by holding Brown to five points.

Josh Gasser was a pleasant surprise for the Badgers with a season-high 10 points. The senior provided a spark offensively, hitting back-to-back shots from beyond the arc, where he is shooting 67 percent on the season.

Gasser wasn’t the only Badger to surprise. Redshirt senior Duje Dukan scored 11 points and scored seven straight for the Badgers at one point in the second half.

The Badgers' starters rounded out their nights with Nigel Hayes scoring nine points, Sam Dekker contributing five and Traevon Jackson adding four. Zak Showalter had seven points off the bench for the Badgers, including a spectacular, one-handed putback dunk.

>Zak Showalter put back dunk! @BadgerMBB pic.twitter.com/rx2Vj3F0DJ

— DXL (@TrendChaser102) November 27, 2014

Wisconsin will face the winner of tonight's Florida vs. Georgetown game at 2:30 p.m. CT Wednesday on ESPN.