Wisconsin Badgers stand-out point guard and Cousy finalist Jordan Taylor was feeling it on Thursday night as he went off for a career-high 39 points in a 77-66 win over the Indiana Hoosiers.
If you had any doubts about Taylor being First-Team All-Big Ten, they should be gone now because Taylor’s performance showed why he’s the best guard in the Big Ten.
“Jordan just did some things that very few people, I think, can do against any teams,” said Head Coach Bo Ryan who has his #10 Badgers playing their best basketball at the perfect time in the college basketball season.
By: Nick Grays
At 23-6 and 13-4 in the conference, the Wisconsin Badgers are emerging into what could be a serious threat in the NCAA tournament.
Coming into the season, most experts had the Badgers finishing in the lower half of a loaded Big Ten Conference. One of the leading factors behind the prediction was guard-play.
With the departure of senior guards Jason Bohannon and Trevon Hughes in 2009-10, critics weren’t sure Taylor had the offensive skills to help teammate Jon Leuer lead the Badgers on the offensive end.
They couldn’t have been more wrong because Taylor has been magnificent while averaging 17.8 points, five assists and 4.3 rebounds per game. His sparkling 4.12 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks tops in the nation.
On the season, Taylor has dished out 140 dimes while turning it over only 34 times which is just nuts. I’m not sure you could replicate those kind of numbers in a video game.
But it was his performance in Bloomington where Taylor took a step forward into the role of the Big Ten’s Best Point Guard.
You thought Leuer was versatile, what about Taylor?
Offensively, Jordan was all over the floor against Indiana. He excelled behind the arc, in the paint and from the charity stripe (perfect 10-of-10). His 7-of-8 from 3-point land tied a school record for made treys in a game.
Let’s review, Taylor gets his teammates involved, takes care of the ball, plays hard-nosed defense and scores in a number of ways; what else can you expect from your starting point guard?
Here are some more interesting notes regarding Taylor’s historic performance:
– Taylor’s 39 points marked the most for a UW player since Michael Finley scored a school-record 42 at Eastern Michigan on Dec. 10, 1994. Taylor’s performance is just the fourth in school history of 39 or more points in a game.
– Taylor’s 39 points are the second-most scored by a Big Ten player this season. Jared Sullinger of Ohio State scored 40 vs. IUPUI on Dec. 9.
– The 39-point performance is also just the third game of at least 39 points by a Big Ten player since the 2003-04 season. In addition to Sullinger’s 40 vs. IUPUI this season, Daniel Horton of Michigan scored 39 vs. Illinois on Feb. 21, 2006.
– Taylor’s 39-point performance also ranks as the third-best by an Indiana opponent at Assembly Hall. Michigan State’s Terry Furlow (1976) and Shawn Respert (1995) both scored 40 point in games at Assembly Hall.
What did you think of Taylor’s 39 points in Assembly Hall? Is Jordan the best point guard in the Big Ten? Let me know by commenting below!
Nick Grays is a senior editor at the Sports Bank where he covers the Wisconsin Badgers, Green Bay Packers, Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Brewers. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here or visit his blog Nick Knows Best.