Badgers open French tour with 81-66 win

Wisconsin opened its trip to France with an 81-66 win over Paris Towers on Wednesday night.

The Badgers jumped out to a 15-2 lead through the first five minutes of action and never trailed. Steven Crowl led a balanced Wisconsin attack with 13 points and five rebounds. Chucky Hepburn had 12 points, four steals and three assists. With that duo on the floor, the Badgers were a combined 35 points better than Paris.

Wisconsin did a lot of its damage from the outside, going 12-for-27 from beyond the arc. The grouping of Hepburn, Isaac Lindsey, Markus Ilver and Jordan Davis accounted for all the makes on 21 attempts.

Tyler Wahl and Davis each had eight points and eight rebounds, while Lindsey and Ilver both had 10 points.

The Badgers did turn the ball over 25 times, including four each from Hepburn and guard Kamari McGee.

Wisconsin will take Thursday off from action before facing the Lyon All-Stars Friday and Saturday.