Jan. 24, 2010

Star of the Game
There are many difficult decisions in life. Naming the star of Wisconsin’s pulse-pounding 79-71 overtime win over Penn State is not one of them. Once sophomore guard Jordan Taylor put his foot on the gas, there was no looking back for the Badgers. Shaking off an 0-for-8 start from the floor, Taylor single-handedly erased Wisconsin’s eight-point deficit over the final two minutes of regulation and added another 10 points in the extra frame to finish with 20. He connected on each of his last six field-goal attempts – including a trio of 3-pointers – and improved his already sparkling assist-to-turnover ratio by dishing out six assists without a give-away.

Play of the Game
This was a more difficult decision, as several plays from the Badgers’ big comeback are eligible for the highlight reel, including a handful by Taylor. The nod goes to his clutch jumper with just 26 seconds remaining in regulation, a shot Taylor set up by going one-on-one with Penn State’s Talor Battle at the right wing. Driving toward the free throw line, Taylor turned the corner on Battle and saw enough daylight to hoist a floater that fell through the cylinder and knotted the score at 60-all.

Turning Point of the Game
Penn State led by as many as 16 points in the second half, but the Badgers made it a back-and-forth battle with a 15-0 run that cut that advantage to a single point, at 52-51, with just under seven minutes left in regulation. When the Nittany Lions responded with an 8-1 run of their own, and Andrew Ott capped the flurry with a thunderous dunk, however, things again looked bleak for the Badgers. Enter Taylor, who turned things around by splashing a 3-pointer off a pass from Trevon Hughes with 1:47 to go. The trifecta spurred Taylor on his personal 8-0 run to force overtime, and the Badgers never trailed again.

Stat of the Game
There were a couple of major factors in the Badgers’ rally back from a double-digit deficit in the second half, but Wisconsin’s ability to turn the Nittany Lions over and then covert on those extra possessions looms large. Matching their season-high with 12 steals, the Badgers forced Penn State into 18 turnovers that were converted into 33 points. In fact, three steals by Jason Bohannon over a two-minute span in the second half led to seven points and helped key the 15-0 run that kept things close down the stretch. On the other side, the Badgers committed just five turnovers that led to seven points for the Nittany Lions.