Funkerstation » talented players to step up. Antoin

MADISON, Wis. -- Coming off a difficult early season stretch, playing in front of a tepid home crowd and with final exams looming, the conditions were almost in place for No. 17 Wisconsin to suffer a letdown Wednesday night.Only one thing was missing: a worthy opponent.Bronson Koenig scored 21 points, Ethan Happ had 12 points and 12 rebounds, and the Badgers rolled past Idaho State 78-44.Wisconsin (8-2) scored the first 10 points and opened up a 21-3 lead as the Bengals (1-8) could only muster a single 3-pointer in the opening 11 1/2 minutes.It kind of took a while there to get going, kind of a little dead, Wisconsin guard Zak Showalter said. Weve just got to create our own energy sometimes. Its games like this where you kind of get tested, and youve just got to be ready to go every game. I think we responded well.The Badgers were coming off a stretch of four games that included three against schools that played in last seasons Final Four. Wisconsin lost to North Carolina in Maui on Nov. 23, then beat Syracuse on Nov. 29 and Oklahoma on Saturday, both at home.The Badgers held Bengals leading scorer Ethan Telfair (19.8 ppg) to two points on 1-of-9 shooting, with his only basket coming with 5:57 left in the game.I think they know if you can stop him, theres a good chance were going to have a hard time scoring the ball, Bengals coach Bill Evans said. I think thats about as good a job as anybody has done on him in two years.Balint Mocsan had 10 points to lead Idaho State.BIG PICTUREIdaho State: The Bengals had their first winning record last season under Evans in his fourth year at the helm, but with only one victory so far in the non-conference season, that feat will be hard to duplicate. Idaho State never threatened to earn its first victory over a Power 5 conference opponent in 30 years.Wisconsin: The Badgers held Idaho State to a season low in points, the eighth time in 10 games Wisconsin has done that to an opponent. The Badgers ranked 21st in the nation in scoring defense coming into the game.POLL IMPLICATIONSThis game likely wont register much with poll voters. The Badgers were expected to dominate an overmatched opponent, and they did. The game Saturday game against Marquette in Milwaukee might carry more weight.COLD AIRWisconsins Showalter and Vitto Brown each failed to draw rim on 3-point attempts, and Happ and Nigel Hayes both missed everything on a free throw. But Idaho States Geno Luzcando had the worst luck -- the junior guard lost control as he tried to shoot a 3 in front of the Wisconsin bench, and the ball went over his head out of bounds. On his next shot attempt, he launched an airball from almost the same spot.HE SAID ITIt was one of those days for Evans, the reigning Big Sky Conference coach of the year. He had one question when he entered the interview room and found a sports drink waiting for him at the table. First thing is, is this tequila, or is it something else? Because if its not tequila, Im not really interested, Evans said. I dont drink either, and Im about ready to try it.UP NEXTIdaho State: Hosts Bristol, a third-year California program that plays all its games on the road, to begin a stretch of four games in 11 days.Wisconsin: Will be tested by two in-state rivals, playing at Marquette on Saturday and hosting Wisconsin-Green Bay on Dec. 14, before a break for final exams.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25.Dan Hampton Womens Jersey . The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Lions have not announced the hiring, which was first reported by ESPN. Lombardi, the grandson of former Green Bay Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, has been an offensive assistant on Sean Paytons New Orleans staff since 2007. Jim McMahon Womens Jersey . 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Though he led the Canucks to what was then a franchise record-shattering campaign in just his second season, Nonis was gone and replaced one year later.The Arizona Coyotes parted ways with veteran center Antoine Vermette to give themselves some more flexibility for next season.The Coyotes bought out the final year of Vermettes contract on Monday, making the 34-year-old a free agent. Instead of counting $3.75 million against the salary cap, Vermette will count $1.25 million each of the next two seasons as Arizona looks to get younger.In order to give our team more flexibility, we needed to make this difficult decision, general manager John Chayka said. This move will provide an opportunity for some of our young, talented players to step up. Antoine is a class act and we thank him for all he did on and off the ice for the Arizona Coyotes organization.Vermette proved to be a valuable asset for the Coyotes at the 2015 trade deadline when they sent him to the Chicago Blackhawks for a first-round pick and defensive prospect Klas Dahlbeck.ddddddddddddVermette won the Stanley Cup with Chicago, and Arizona selected Nick Merkley to bulk up their prospect depth.The Coyotes re-signed Vermette in the summer of 2015 to a $7.5 million, two-year deal. He had 17 goals and 21 assists in 76 games last season and will likely draw interest around the NHL at a reduced salary.In 910 NHL games with Ottawa, Columbus, Chicago and Arizona, Vermette has 211 goals and 260 assists. ' ' '