Men’s Hoops Falls To No. 17 Wisconsin, 69-57 – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan 28, 2004
Box Score| Quotes| Notes
By RUSTY MILLER
AP Sports Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Devin Harris made five of seven 3-pointers and scored 29 to lead No. 17 Wisconsin to a 69-57 victory over Ohio State on Wednesday night, keeping the Badgers tied for the top spot in the Big Ten.
The Badgers (14-3, 5-1) are off to their best start in conference play since the 1962 team won seven of its first eight. They have won three in a row and five of their last six and share the lead with Indiana.
Harris’ point total was one off his career best against Illinois in the Badgers’ last game. He made nine of 12 shots and six of seven free throws in addition to recording four rebounds, four assists and five steals.
Not since coach Jim O’Brien’s first Ohio State team in 1997-98 lost its first 14 Big Ten games have the Buckeyes (9-10, 1-5) gotten off to a worse start in the league.
Ohio State has lost its last three games and six of the last seven.
J.J. Sullinger scored 14 points for Ohio State, which held a 41-24 upper hand in rebounding yet outscored the Badgers by just six points in the paint.
Ohio State led 20-18 on Terence Dials’ inside shot with 9:17 left in the half, but the Buckeyes didn’t hit another basket for almost five minutes. Over that time, the Badgers scored eight of nine points. Both Harris and Clayton Hanson hit 3-pointers and Dave Mader added a 15-foot jumper for a 26-21 lead.
Tony Stockman’s 3-pointer brought the Buckeyes to 31-27 before the Badgers ran off the final six points of the half. After Zach Morley slashed through the lane for a layup and Harris hit two free throws.
In the final seconds of the half, Morley missed a 3-pointer, Harris caught the long rebound and tossed it short of the rim where Boo Wade was waiting to pop it in as the buzzer sounded.
The Badgers then hit five of their first seven shots from the field – including a layup and a fast-break dunk by Harris – at the outset of the second half to bump the lead to 49-29. The game never got closer than the final margin, with Ohio State scoring the final seven points of the game.
Stockman finished with six points on 2-of-8 shooting for Ohio State. O’Brien told Stockman to stay behind when the Buckeyes played at Iowa on Saturday, saying Stockman needed to re-evaluate whether he wanted to remain with the team. Stockman returned to the team at Monday’s practice and said he understood O’Brien’s decision and was ready to rededicate himself.
