• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Leuer lifts Wisconsin past rival Michigan

Jan 3, 2008 - 5:00 AM ANN ARBOR, Michigan (Ticker) -- After its biggest win of the season, No. 24 Wisconsin did not suffer a letdown in its Big Ten Conference opener.

Freshman Jon Leuer scored a career-high 25 points and Marcus Landry added 15 and six rebounds to lead the Badgers to their fifth consecutive victory, a 70-54 triumph over rival Michigan on Wednesday night.

Brian Butch and Jason Bohannon each had seven points for Wisconsin (11-2, 1-0 Big Ten), which was coming off a 67-66 win over then-No. 9 Texas on Saturday. It marked the club's first road win over a top-10 team since the 1979-80 season.

"I think we obviously played a terrific team today, a team doesn't go down and win in Texas without (Trevon) Hughes, and then they come here and they have him; they're just a very good basketball team," Michigan coach John Beilein said.

Leuer shot 8-of-9 from the field and connected on all five of his 3-point attempts in the contest. The 6-10 forward is now 9-of-10 from the arc this season and has not missed a three since November 16.

"He's hard to get to, and he was a great story for this game today," Beilein said of Leuer. "Every time we get close, Leuer did something great. What I like about him is that he's not just an outside shooter, he has a sense of where the ball is coming off of the rim and his offensive rebounds are terrific."

"I can't give enough credit to my teammates," Leuer said. "I was open in some spots and they found me. That's what it came down to."

Wisconsin wasted little time against its conference rival, jumping out to a 10-0 lead with 13:32 remaining in the first half after Landry hit a turnaround jumper.

"Guys did not come ready to play," Michigan forward Ron Coleman said. "In the Big Ten, you really can't have a let down against any team. They can jump ahead really quick. We just have to get mentally tougher."

A pair of free throws by freshman Anthony Wright brought the Wolverines to within six with 5:15 left in the first, but the Badgers responded with a 13-3 run to end the half and took a 34-18 advantage into the break.

Leuer knocked down three 3-pointers during the burst. The freshman scored 12 points in the first half, going 4-of-4 from the arc.

"The guy (Leuer) doesn't flinch," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. "He's been like that since the first time we saw him play. He just doesn't change."

Wisconsin jumped out to a 42-22 lead with 16:57 left, but Michigan began to show signs of life after Landry went to the bench with his third foul.

The Wolverines went on a 12-2 run to cut the deficit to 10 points before Leuer connected on his fifth 3-pointer of the contest to extend the Badgers' advantage to 47-34 with 10:13 remaining.

"It was a big win for us," Leuer said. "To kick off the Big Ten season like that, it was fun."

Wisconsin, which shot 49 percent (22-of-45), did let Michigan cut the deficit to single digits the rest of the way. The Wolverines overcame a dreadful shooting effort in the first half to finish at 39 percent (20-of-52) from the field.

Michigan (4-9, 0-1) was led by freshman Manny Harris, who finished with 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting and had four assists.

DeShawn Sims scored 13 points and made three steals for the Wolverines, who have lost three straight and seven of their last eight contests.