Cagers look to exact revenge against stumbling Wisconsin

For one team it was the high point of the season, for the other it was as low as it would get.

When Wisconsin dismantled Penn State 76-57 on Jan. 14, it looked as if the Badgers (10-14, 3-9 Big Ten) were ready to make a run at the upper echelon of the Big Ten. It was their last game in the Field House and Wisconsin coach Dick Bennett called it one of the best they played all season.

The Nittany Lions, on the other hand, were stunned. They were blown out from the get-go. They found themselves trailing by 26 at the half and could never recover. Penn State (11-9, 4-6) was humiliated in the nationally broadcasted game. It could be easily argued it was the worst game the Lions played all season.

Tomorrow, the two teams meet again, this time at 8 p.m. in The Bryce Jordan Center. Since the last meeting, much has changed. Wisconsin went on to win its next game, against Northwestern, but since then lost seven in a row.

Penn State called a team meeting after the loss to the Badgers and has been playing inspired basketball since. With six games left, the Lions still have postseason aspirations.

Bennett said he thinks the Penn State team his team will face tomorrow is much different than the one the Badgers saw in early January.

"They have many different ways of scoring," Bennett said. "You always have to do a good job on (Penn State guard Pete) Lisicky. But they have other guys that can hurt you too."

Bennett mentioned most of the Penn State starters as scoring threats. Bennett's team, meanwhile, has nearly no scoring threats. Wisconsin ranks dead last in the Big Ten in scoring offense and scored only 13 points in the first half Wednesday night in a 47-39 loss to lowly Northwestern.

While the Badgers' offense has been almost non-existent, they have held opposing teams to 62.4 points per game, second best in the league.

"That's hard," Bennett said of his team's success on defense and lack of success on offense. "In time, the defense collapses. We just have not been able to put the ball in the basket. It's frustrating for everybody."

The Wisconsin defense frustrated Penn State the last time the two teams met. The Lions shot 35 percent from the field and turned the ball over 19 times. Tomorrow, Penn State knows it must prevent a repeat performance if it hopes to have any success.

"When we played out there, they were all over the place," Lisicky said. "They killed us with their half-court defense. It translated into us being on our heels."

Since the loss to Wisconsin the Lions have gone 3-3. They now stand at 4-6, are in seventh place in the Big Ten and know if they have any hopes of making the NIT they must win at least four of the next six games. With games against Purdue and Michigan still on the schedule, the Lions must beat opponents such as Wisconsin, which rank below them in the standings.

But this won't be the only thing on the Lions' minds when they take the floor tomorrow night. They'll be thinking about the trouncing they suffered in January and looking for a little revenge.

"I'm still mad at that game," Lion forward Titus Ivory said. "They embarrassed us on national television and that's something you take personally. I can't wait to see them again."