UNIVERSITY PARK - Pat Chambers wants to recruit Philadelphia, an area where Penn State hasn't fared well over the years.
He'd also like to beat the Philly guy, Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan. Ryan's No. 19 Badgers have now won 14 of 16 against Penn State after a 52-46 victory Tuesday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.
This game showed those recruiting efforts are needed for more scoring options, as Tim Frazier scored 17 of Penn State's 23 second-half points and six of its seven second-half field goals. Frazier and Jermaine Marshall also combined for 20 of the Lions' 26 second-half field goal attempts.
No sequence epitomized the Lions' struggles more than a stretch with two minutes to play that saw two missed Jon Graham free throws followed by two Marshall misses after a long rebound swat.
Down 40-38, Graham went to the line after pulling the rebound off a Frazier miss. Marshall later took a pass in front of the Penn State bench, but missed a three that Matt Glover rebounded to keep possession. Glover passed to Marshall, who was cutting toward the basket, but his dunk missed and Wisconsin finally regained possession again.
Jordan Taylor's 3-pointer a few seconds later gave the Badgers a two-possession lead for good.
Chambers can't play any new recruits until next season, so he'll need others to score more for the rest of this one. Chambers said he wanted Frazier taking the second-half shots once Marshall cooled off after a 10-point first half.
"Cam Woodyard, he's got to get it done," Chambers said. "Right now, he and Tim and Jermaine are our three guys with Billy Oliver (concussion) and Trey Lewis (back) out."
Frazier scored a game-high 21 and Marshall had 13. Woodyard scored five points on 1-for-6 shooting. Matt Glover, who started as part of a four-guard Lion lineup, fouled out after 30 minutes and did not shoot once against a Wisconsin team that leads the nation in scoring defense and field-goal percentage defense.
Ryan said the Badgers (18-5, 7-3) still had to respect Frazier's game, even if he was the only one scoring in the second half.
"Try guarding him," Ryan said. "It's not like taking five guys and say 'Guard him.' You squeeze ... Sometimes you have to make a guy work offensively to fix his defense, but he did well on both ends."
Taylor finished with 18 points for the Badgers. Another critical play from Taylor, a preseason All-American, was a layup at the end of the first half that cut the Penn State lead to eight, one that melted during the first few moments of the second half.
Both teams endured first-half scoring droughts even though the Nittany Lions were 11-for-24 shooting thanks to Marshall's 5-for-7.
Penn State went 5:44 between Frazier's 18-foot jumper and a Marshall one-hander that actually gave the Lions a 10-9 lead with 10:21 left in the first half.
Wisconsin scored just once in that time, on a Josh Gasser 3-pointer that precluded a dry spell lasting 8:55. The Badgers, 7-for-26 in the first half, scored again when Taylor's three made it 18-12 Penn State with 3:30 before halftime.
Joe Paterno's death last week lingered in this game, as Chambers wore rolled up khakis, white socks, and black sneakers to honor Paterno and take part in the Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers awareness weekend.
Ryan and Wisconsin honored Paterno in their own way, leaving an autographed cap at Paterno's statue, which still stands covered in mementos outside Beaver Stadium. Ryan said the hat was inscribed to "the greatest teacher ever" before telling reporters why Penn State didn't recruit him for football out of Chester High School in the 1960s.
"He said you were a basketball school. He asked how many games we won, and I said 'One in 3 years,'" said Ryan, recalling the conversation from a coaches meeting in Florida. "He took a sip of soda, and said that was 'Maybe why we didn't recruit you.'
"I liked the honesty," said Ryan, who remembered being embarrassed as Paterno told the story in front of his Big Ten counterparts but also some good times visiting the school while playing college basketball at Wilkes.
"I saw Boston College here, maybe, but more importantly a Dionne Warwick concert that night," said Ryan. "I'd come for a couple games. Sammy still a fraternity here? I hit that."
