Wisconsin Opens Season With 77-44 Win Over Penn
November 20, 2004 | Men's Basketball
The University of Wisconsin men's basketball team had a balanced scoring effort to post a 77-44 victory in its season opener against Penn Saturday night at the Kohl Center.
Ten of the 11 Badgers who played also scored, led by Mike Wilkinson and his 19 points. The senior forward also had a game-high 11 rebounds for his 10th career double-double.
Brian Butch chipped in 10 points and four rebounds for UW (1-0), which held an edge in several categories, including rebounds (40-23) and shooting percentage (51.1-31.9).
Wisconsin also was 8-of-14 from 3-point territory, with Wilkinson 3-of-3 and Ray Nixon 2-of-2.
Guard Tim Begley paced the Quakers (1-2) with 15 points, five assists and eight rebounds. Forward Steve Danley, meanwhile, added 10 points.
'I thought our guys covered well in transitions, finding people,' head coach Bo Ryan said. '(We took Penn) out of any comfort zones. '
Both teams got off to a slow start, as the game was tied at 8 midway in the first half. But then UW went on several mini-runs to eventually take a 36-20 lead at the break.
Those runs increased in the second half, as Wisconsin went ahead by as much as 34 points late in the game. UW never relinquished its lead.
'Wisconsin is a very solid basketball team,' Penn head coach Fran Dunphy said. 'We knew they wouldn't beat themselves. '
The Badgers will remain at home for their next game, taking on UC-Santa Barbara at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Kohl Center.
Game Notes
The Badgers improved to 80-27 all-time in season openers and 6-0 all-time against Penn ' UW extended its home winning streak to 29, which is the nation's third longest ' Sharif Chambliss, who sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules, played his first regular-season game since March 13, 2003 when he was with Penn State ' Ray Nixon tied a career high with three field goals (3-of-3 overall)
