MADISON, Wis. -- The offense is a work in progress for No. 9 Wisconsin, but the defense is in midseason form.Bronson Koenig had 16 points, Nigel Hayes scored 10 of his 14 in the second half and the Badgers held Central Arkansas to 28 percent shooting while opening a season of high expectations with a 79-47 win Friday night.The Badgers were never seriously threatened after building a 20-point lead with 15:46 left following an 8-0 run. Hayes did all the scoring with two 3-pointers and a layup.But all that time they spent on defense in preseason practice paid off in the opener at the Kohl Center.Weve done a lot of drills, pulled drills out from yesteryear, put a lot of focus on that, because I knew we were going to have to be a really good defensive team, coach Greg Gard said.Its just one game, but the defensive effort bodes well for when rough-and-tumble Big Ten play starts in late December. Wisconsin pulled away after Central Arkansas got to 19-17 with 7:13 left in the first half.You know about their defense, Bears coach Russ Pennell said. Then we see it up close and personal, you see how good it is. ... They just dont give you anything easy.The Badgers pride themselves on halfcourt defense, in particular how they defend ball-screen and close driving lanes. They were a little over-aggressive early on the boards before asserting their muscles to outrebound Central Arkansas 45-29.I thought we showed a lot of promise and we had flashes of playing really good defense, Koenig said.Once Wisconsin started knocking down shots against the Bears matchup zone, it was no contest.Hayes, the Big Ten preseason player of the year, was 5 of 10 from the field. He finished 2 for 6 from 3-point range after missing his first three shots from behind the arc.Derreck Brooks had 12 points and eight rebounds for Central Arkansas.Ethan Happ added eight points and nine rebounds for the Badgers. They have all five starters and their top nine scorers back from last seasons team that advanced to the NCAA regional semifinals.BIG PICTURECentral Arkansas: Picked to finish 11th in the 13-team Southland Conference in a preseason coaches poll, the Bears hung in with the more talented Badgers until midway through the first half. With a rough schedule befitting a low mid-major school, Central Arkansas should draw confidence following a respectable effort against a potential Final Four team.Their size and physicality really took over in the second half . We just really werent able to stand up to that, Pennell said.Wisconsin: The Badgers are deeper and more experienced than the squad that was stunned in last years season opener by Western Illinois. DMitrik Trice scored six points off the bench in the first half Friday with two 3s. The freshman could give Wisconsin added quickness in a reserve role when Koenig needs a breather. Sophomore Khalil Iverson displayed athleticism with a block minutes after jumping high in the air on the other end for an offensive rebound to save a possession.TAKE A SHOTIt took a little while for Wisconsin to get its bearings on offense, though Gards team finished 11 of 29 from 3-point range. With able post scorers in Hayes and Happ, the Badgers dont normally rely on 3s to score. But Gard for the most part was happy with the shots taken from outside against Central Arkansas zone.If theyre open 3s, well take them. Not that we necessarily just want to shoot all 3s, but it works for the Warriors, joked the verbose Hayes, referring to the NBAs Golden State Warriors.POLL IMPLICATIONSWisconsin should stay at No. 9 in the poll next week, pending how No. 3 Kansas and No. 5 Oregon fared later Friday night.UP NEXTCentral Arkansas: A tough opening-week schedule continues with a trip on Nov. 14 to Oklahoma State.Wisconsin: At No. 22 Creighton on Nov. 15.---For more college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25---Follow Genaro Armas at: https://twitter.com/GArmasAP Eden Hazard Jersey . It was the second consecutive win for the Pacers (2-5), who lost their first five preseason games. Jeff Teague led the Hawks (1-5) with 17 points and eight assists and Al Horford had 12 points and seven rebounds. Mike Scott scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. Youri Tielemans Belgium Jersey . Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before. http://www.belgiumsoccerpro.com/Simon-Mignolet-Belgium-Jersey/ . PAUL, Minn. Thomas Meunier Jersey . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan. Belgium Soccer Jerseys . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets. Nikhat Zareen might have felt confident that her left arm would be the one raised at the end of her semifinal bout against Neeraj of Haryana. Thats how it had been at the end of her three previous bouts at the womens boxing nationals underway in Haridwar. The decision, when it came, might have come as a shock. 2-1 to the Haryana boxer.Zareen bowed to an equally surprised crowd and quickly made her way out of the ring.Going into the tournament - her first senior Nationals -?it had been expected that Zareen would take gold. However, she ticked several of the boxes that should make her the next big hope.Shes just 20 - the federations period of sordid infighting hasnt yet robbed her off her prime fighting years. She has boxing pedigree, having won gold at the junior Worlds in 2011 and a silver at the World Youth Championships in 2014. But what really got people excited is simply the division Zareen boxes in - flyweight. Thats the one in which Mary Kom won her Olympic bronze. Zareen had fought Mary too - at the SAF Games test event - losing by a split decision. She had impressed even in defeat. And now it was on Zareens slight frame that Indian boxings hope for the future were to rest.At Haridwar, she was the heir apparent. Mary wasnt participating. The only competitor who was expected to mount a serious threat - Commonwealth bronze medalist Pinki Jangra -?had dropped out injured. It was only a matter of time to the coronation, it had seemed.Zareens own goal had not just been to win gold. That was expected. I want to win the best boxer award,she had said prior to the tournament.As it turned out, that was not to be the case. Zareen will have to be satisfied with a bronze and a spot in the national camp. When selection trials are held ahead of the Asian Championships next year, she will know she isnt assured of a spot at the top of the pecking order.Zareen had seemingly prepared well for the Nationals. She has been training for the last two years with E Chiranjeevi, former chief coach of the Indian boxing team. An American coach, Ronald Simms, had begun working with her over the past month as well.The partnership with Chiranjeevi - respected as one of the sharpest minds in Indian boxing - had appeared to be a fruitful one. Chiranjeevi had worked on retooling Zareens boxing inventory. He had worked on her lead left jab and on her movement. Zareen had won the Inter University title in 2014 followed by a gold at the Bongaigaon National tournament - an all India competition organized by the ad-hoc committee that was managing the sports affairs in the country in the absence of a federation. But it wasnt an entirely winning graph. Zareen had competed at the 2016 World Championships at the 54kg division where she lost in the quarters to a tall Chinese southpaw.At the Nationals, it had seemed that Zareen, after a scratchy first bout had hit her stride. Her second bout against Manju Basumatry was a potential banana peel. Basumatry was a left-handed boxer with a natural advantage against the right-handed Zareen. The bout, however, would prove to be one that Zareen dominated. Her side-to-side movement constantly had her rival committing early and then opening her right side up as Zareen stepped towards her left.It was a boxing masterclass -- but even while others enthused about her quick feet and fast hands, some experienced coaches pointed out what they saw as flaws in her game. While she certainly floated llike a butterfly, her sting was mosquito-like.dddddddddddd Zareens sideways movement is one of the best I have seen. But she doesnt have power in her punches. You cant succeed at the senior level unless you make your opponent think twice about coming forward, reckoned Bhaskar Bhat, a coach who has worked with the senior Indian womens team. Chiranjeevi was cautious. The true test was yet to come, he had said.Zareen has been able to show her skills against her opponents when she has been allowed to box. My worry is whether she will be able to maintain her cool even when she comes under pressure, he said.That was exactly the kind of game, when Zareen faced Neeraj. The Haryana boxer is 21 and was playing her first tournament as well. She is a southpaw and at 56, a tall one at that, in the 51kg division.It wasnt as if this was an insurmountable obstacle. Coach Chiranjeevi had been preparing for such an eventuality, due to which he practiced padwork with Zareen over the last few days. A southpaw has multiple angles of attack against an orthodox boxer. The mantra for an orthodox boxing a southpaw is to find a way to keep her lead left foot outside the southpaws lead right. That negates the opponents power hand. If the orthodox boxer slips the southpaws right hand jab, she can easily hook to the body or throw the right cross at the body. Considering Zareen is perhaps one of the slickest movers in the entirety of womens boxing in the country, it should have been easy for her.Yet, inexplicably, Zareen wouldnt fight this textbook style. Neeraj would throw her left jab and then follow up with a clinch. It was an ugly style, but there was no doubt about its effect. Frustrated by her opponents bum-rushing approach, Zareen forgot that she could simply side step and leave Neeraj flailing at air. Instead, Zareen either stood still or back pedalled - not the wisest of strategies considering that the Haryana boxer had the height and reach advantage.The clinching eventually cost Neeraj two-point deductions in the second and third round, but the damage had already been done. Zareen lost fairly unanimously on the scorecards. Two judges had her losing each round 40-36. Another two had her beaten 39-37. Just one had her winning 39-37. The point deduction only made the margin of defeat narrower.Zareen will grudge the scoring in the bout, and yes, the fight appeared a lot closer than what the judges seemed to suggest in their cards. But there is genuine soul searching required for Zareen to do herself. The Nationals have revealed genuine flaws in her game. While she could easily set herself up in great positions through her feinting and pivoting on her back leg, she didnt appear to have a lot of venom in her punches. Post the semifinals, her mental fortitude and ability to focus under pressure will be questioned, with a number of worthy challengers having sprung up.While disappointed, Chiranjeevi agrees there is plenty of work to be done. She needs to be able to maintain her cool during bouts a lot better. I think she is perhaps at 30 percent of the level she needs to be.?It wasnt the result we wanted but it is an important learning experience for Zareen. She would have understood the difference in boxing at the age group and at the senior level. She will only come back stronger, he says. ' ' '
