The Wisconsin Badgers remain unbeaten in home openers at the Kohl Center,
Sam Dekker
knocking off #11/10 Florida 59-53 on Tuesday night.
The Gators jumped out to a 16-4 lead before the Badgers clamped down, went on a
22-10 run and never looked back.
Sam Dekker scored 16 points to lead the Badgers #20/19. Guard Traevon Jackson finished with 13 points, including a key elbow jumper with 9.8 seconds left to give Wisconsin a 58-53 lead. Jackson struggled with five turnovers but still managed to come up big with the game on the line.
Senior guard Ben Brust added 11 points and 9 rebounds and freshman forward Nigel Hayes had 8 points and 2 rebounds off the bench in his 18 minutes of play.
Wisconsin improved to 2-0 on the season and moved to 182-18 (.910) at home under Bo Ryan, including a mark of 91-7 (.928) in non-conference games.
In 12 seasons under Bo Ryan, Wisconsin is 21-6 against AP Top-15 teams at the Kohl Center, including a 12-3 mark over the last four seasons.
The Badgers next face the Green Bay Phoenix at the Resch Center in Green Bay.