Dec. 27, 2004

Final Stats

Madison, Wis. - The 28th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers got 21 points and 10 rebounds from Alando Tucker to record an 89-49 victory over Western Carolina Monday night in the Kohl Center. With the victory, Wisconsin improves to 8-2 on the year and runs their home winning streak to a nation's best 35 straight games, while the Catamounts fall to 5-9.

Wisconsin will once again put the nation's longest home winning streak on the line on Dec. 29 when 13th-ranked Alabama, who Western played earlier in the season, comes to the Kohl Center, where the Badgers have not lost in more than two years and have beaten their visitors by an average of more than 20 points with only three games decided by single digits.

Jared Outing, who led the Cats with 11 points, scored four of Western's first six points to give his team an early 6-2 advantage with three and a half minutes gone in the game. Wisconsin then scored 11 straight, taking a 13-6 lead with 12:07 left in the first half, an never looked back. Western kept the game close over the next two minutes, thanks to a Rans Brempong jumper to make the score 18-10 at the 9:37 mark. However, Mike Wilkinson immediately answered with a short jumper, making the score 20-10, and the Badgers kept a double digit lead the remainder of the contest.

Wisconsin took a 40-20 lead into the locker room at the break. The Badgers only shot 39.5 percent from the field, but held a 28-16 rebound advantage and drained 5-of-12 from beyond the 3-point arc. Those five treys accounted for 15 points and proved to be the difference as the Badgers made 15 first-half field goals compared to just 10 by the Catamounts, who were 0-for-7 beyond the arc. Also, Wisconsin made five free throws to Western's none, to provide the 20-point halftime margin.

The Badgers turned on the afterburners in the second half, shooting 50 percent from the field and finishing the game with a 53-33 rebound advantage. For the game, Wisconsin had 26 second-chance points, compared to just one by the Cats.

Kammron Taylor came off the Badgers bench to add 13 points. Wilkinson contributed 12 points, while Clayton Hanson scored 11 on three 3-pointers.

Outing led the Cats in scoring for the first time this season and just the second time of his career. The Columbia, S.C., native made 4-of-6 shots from the field. Negus McKenna saw his most extensive action of the season. The freshman made all three of his shots from the field, including a 3-pointer, to score seven points. Fellow freshman Trey Hopkins also scored seven points. David Berghoefer, whose hometown of Cross Plains is just minutes from Wisconsin's campus, only scored six points, but pulled down 10 rebounds.

Western Carolina will return to action on Jan. 3 in the annual "Pack the RAC" promotion, sponsored this year by Verizon Wireless. Thanks to Verizon Wireless, all fans will enter the Ramsey Center free of charge for the Cats' game versus Georgia Southern on Jan. 3 at 7 pm.