UW finds shooting touch to beat Penn State by 10

• Wisconsin Badgers

Wisconsin Badgers

Talk about it

MADISON - The University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team won its 18th straight home game last night, 76-66 over Penn State.

The third-place Badgers moved a game closer to front-running Ohio State in the Big Ten race, after second-place Purdue upset the Buckeyes yesterday. Wisconsin is now one game behind the Boilermakers and two in back of Ohio State with two weeks left.

The 10th-ranked Badgers led by as many as 15 in the first half against Penn State – and the Nittany Lions never got any closer than nine in the second half. Seniors Keaton Nankivil and Jon Leuer led Wisconsin with 22 points each. Nankivil tied a career-high by making all five of his three-point attempts. Leuer scored in double figures for his 33rd straight game. He also had 10 rebounds, as the Badgers won their 20th overall contest for the eighth time in nine seasons under coach Bo Ryan. Before that, Wisconsin only had four 20-win seasons in 103 years.

Talor Battle led Penn State with 23 points, and he took over the Big Ten scoring lead from JaJuan Johnson of Purdue. Penn State dropped to 1-8 on the road and 14-12 overall. And they’re 7-8 in the Big Ten Conference. Wisconsin won its 20th straight game off a loss after falling at Purdue last Wednesday. And it’s been over two years since the Badgers have had back-to-back defeats. They’re 10-4 in the Big Ten and 20-6 overall. Wisconsin will play at Michigan on Wednesday night.

Tags: wisconsin sports, proam, basketball, badgers