Wisconsin Recovers and Beats Indiana

Kirk Penney’s first-half misfirings lulled the Indiana Hoosiers into a false sense of security.

“I guess our guys thought because he missed shots in the first half, he was going to miss shots in the second half,” Indiana interim coach Mike Davis said after the Hoosiers fell to No. 12 Wisconsin, 49-46, on Thursday night at Madison, Wis.

Penney scored 13 of his 15 points after halftime as the Badgers erased a 12-point first-half deficit to win for the 10th consecutive time.

“The team was down and none of our movers were getting open, so I tried to get open as much as I could,” said Penney, who scored the first eight points of the second half and cut the Badger deficit to 28-27.

“I knew they would make a run,” Davis said. “They made a run immediately. It rattled us a little bit.”

Still, the Hoosiers, 9-6 overall and 0-1 in the Big Ten, were in it until the end.

Dane Fife misfired a three-point shot at the buzzer that would have tied it for Indiana, which got 19 points from Kirk Haston, including a crucial three-point basket with nine seconds left that cut the Hoosier deficit to 47-46.

Roy Boone was fouled by Tom Cloverdale with 7.7 seconds left and made two free throws to secure the Badgers’ first victory in a conference opener in five years.

Wisconsin (10-1, 1-0 Big Ten) managed only one offensive rebound and didn’t lead until Penney’s three-point shot from the left baseline with 9:24 left made the score 37-35.

Wisconsin also won for the 10th consecutive time since a season-opening loss to No. 9 Tennessee and improved to 8-0 under acting coach Brad Soderberg, who took over when Dick Bennett retired Nov. 30.

It looked like Soderberg was headed for his first loss as the Badgers fell behind by 12 in the first half.

“I think the first few possessions of the second half were key because I really challenged our guys at halftime to just not play with such fear,” Soderberg said. “They looked so tentative. We didn’t make many strategic adjustments.”

No. 3 Duke 99, Florida State 72--Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski makes no bones about it: His team can shoot.

“That’s one of our strengths,” Krzyzewski said after watching his team make 15 three-point attempts at Tallahassee in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams.

Jason Williams, Shane Battier and Nate James combined for 70 points as the Blue Devils (12-1, 1-0) coasted to their 18th win in 19 games in ACC play over the Seminoles.

“I get the other team’s attention a lot more than I did last year,” said Williams, who shot six of 10 from three-point range and finished with a game-high 26 points. “If you leave us open, there is a high percentage we’re going to knock it down. A three-pointer for us is kind of like a layup.”

Krzyzewski’s club shot 49.3% overall and 46.9% from long distance, making 15-of-32 three-point attempts.

Battier and James each scored 22 points and Mike Dunleavy added 15.

“For us it’s a really good distance,” Krzyzewski said. “We can put four guys who can shoot ‘em out there.”

Florida State (4-9, 0-1) made seven of 10 from long range, but didn’t get nearly as many shots.

“When you play Duke, you have to pick your poison,” Florida State Coach Steve Robinson said. “Are you going to stop the drive, the three or the post-up game?”

The Blue Devils jumped to a 23-9 lead midway through the first half and opened their largest lead at 88-54 with 8:43 left.

“They have so many weapons,” Robinson said. “Once you get away from doing your thing, they just seem to continue to pounce on you.”

Carlos Boozer’s game-high nine rebounds led Duke to a 43-29 lead. The Blue Devils had 21 offensive rebounds, leading to 21 second-chance points.

“If you can’t rebound, you can’t win,” Florida State’s Monte Cummings said. “Especially against a team that shoots that well.”