KAHULUI, Maui – The Lahaina Civic Center is nearly 5,000 miles from Madison Square Garden. On so many fronts, ocean or otherwise, the arenas are worlds apart.

But in rallying past Tennessee, 74-62, here Monday in the Maui Invitational, Wisconsin's Bronson Koenig had a flashback to last year's win over VCU at the 2K Classic in New York City.

And it had nothing to do with his game-winning shot in the final eight seconds that bailed out the Badgers after squandering a six-point lead in the final five minutes.

"It kind of reminded me of the VCU game from the way they (the Volunteers) tried to speed us up and everything like that," said Koenig. "I think we had the same number of turnovers."

Close. Wisconsin had 17 turnovers against VCU and 18 against Tennessee, a team that is relying heavily on underclassmen, the antithesis of the senior-laden Badgers.

"It's a good test for us early in the year," Koenig went on, "to kind of let us know what we need to work on. We need to control the tempo better and play our game.

"Once we do that, we're going to be really good."

Wisconsin was really good during a 12-0 run at the start of Monday's game. Nigel Hayes and Ethan Happ keyed the surge with baskets inside (on the fast break) and out (a Hayes triple).

But after extending the lead to 17 points (26-9) midway through the first half, the Badgers got careless with the ball and opened the door for the Vols who punched back with 10 unanswered points.

Consider: Wisconsin made 10 of its first 12 shots and finished the half making only 6 of their last 15. Tennessee missed 10 of its first 12 field goals and then made 10 of its next 21.

The Vols carried that momentum into the second half. Scoring six points off transition, and two on a second chance possession, they used a 10-0 run to take a 42-40 lead.

The teams then traded baskets.

Tennessee's last lead was 46-44. That's when the Badgers reasserted their control behind Hayes, Happ and Koenig. During a 12-2 explosion, they accounted for all of the points.

"I thought it was good adversity for us to go on a run and then have them go on a run," Koenig said of the momentum swings. "It was good for our younger guys. We have a lot of veterans who have been here before and know how to counter that by just playing it one possession at a time."

Hayes turned in one of the most complete games of his UW career. Along with his double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds), he had three blocks, two assists and two steals in 32 minutes.

"Nigel has always been great in the post and the paint," said Koenig. "I was glad to see him down there a little more because he's a great passer and he's got a lot of skills down low."

On Tuesday, the Badgers will draw Georgetown, a 65-61 winner over Oregon. That should trigger another Madison Square Garden flashback for Koenig and his teammates.

The Hoyas beat Wisconsin, 71-61, in the opener of last season's 2K Classic in New York. The Badgers shot only 32 percent, missing 12 of their first 13 attempts.

There should be no surprises or pulled punches.

It has the makings of a Big Ten game in the South Pacific.

"It will be physical," Koenig said.

Here are some observations from Maui:

The Badgers closed out the game in their 3-2 zone defense. Zak Showalter manned the point with Koenig and D'Mitrik Trice on the wings and Happ and Hayes on the backline.

Showalter and Khalil Iverson appear to be interchangeable at the top of the zone, which forced Tennessee to make some tough baskets at the end of the shot clock.

Trice has been uncanny in his ability to come off the bench and deliver instant offense, whether by making his own shot or getting an open one for a teammate.

Vitto Brown had a highlight dunk – a punch – thanks to a perfectly timed Trice bounce pass in transition. Besides three assists, Trice had four rebounds in 24 minutes.

Trice had an emotional reaction to a Hayes post up on the left block. Exhibiting strength and quickness, not to mention timing, Hayes powered through a double-team to score and draw a foul. An animated Trice reacted by punching the air with his fist.

Hayes attempted only eight free throws the first three games. He shot nine against Tennessee. Happ followed Hayes' lead. He came into the game with four free three attempts. And he had seven.

By running the floor, Happ got a few baskets before the Tennessee defense could set up. But he still needs to slow himself down in the paint and not rush or force passes in the half-court sets.

Whenever Tennessee used "bigs" to guard Koenig, whether it was 6-5, 234-pound Grant Williams or 6-7, 203-pound John Fulkerson, he beat them off the dribble for scores at the rim.

Showalter had his strongest game of the young season with nine points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals in 33 minutes. Nice bounce back after going scoreless against Chicago State.

Georgetown has a proven scorer in 6-5, 205-pound guard Rodney Pryor, a grad transfer. Last season, he led Robert Morris in scoring (18.3) and rebounding (8.0).

Against Oregon, Pryor had 26 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks.

L.J. Peak sealed the win over the No. 15 Ducks with some clutch free throw shooting. Peak had 21 points in a disappointing early season loss to Maryland in which the Hoyas blew a late lead.

DNA focus. Trey Mourning, a 6-9, 230-pound junior, is the son of Alonzo Mourning, a four-time All-American at Georgetown.

George Muresan, a 6-9, 210-pound freshman walk-on, is the son of 7-7 Gheorghe Muresan, a retired NBA veteran and Billy Crystal's "Giant" in the movie by the same name (My Giant).