eds a breather. Sophomore Khalil Iverson displayed athleticism with a block minutes after jumping high in the air on the other end for an offen

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 Tom Jackson Jersey . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed. Royce Freeman Youth Jersey . P.A. Parenteau scored early in the third period to help the Avs edge Toronto 2-1 on Tuesday night. 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USAs chances of reclaiming the Auty Cup from Canada this week have been dealt a serious blow after fast bowler Ali Khan had to withdraw from the squad due to an injury picked up during the teams five-day training camp in Indianapolis last month.Khan, 25, played for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League this summer, and was in line to make his USA debut. But he suffered a left hamstring strain during a fitness and agility test on September 20. Khan had injured himself while doing a drill that required the players to complete a simulated three-run sprint between the wickets for which they were timed.Although the initial prognosis was that Khan would be fit in time for this weeks matches against Canada, he has not been cleared tto play.dddddddddddd USAs team management decided to give him two more weeks to recover, ahead of the WCL Division Four, which is scheduled to start on October 29.Hammad Shahid has been drafted in as a replacement for Khan, and is also on standby for WCL Division Four if Khan is unable to recover in time. Shahid, 24, is based in Los Angeles, where the Auty Cup and WCL Division Four will be held. He was USAs leading pace bowler at the World T20 Qualifier in Ireland last summer, with seven wickets in six games. He was also in the ICC Americas combined squad that played in the WICB Nagico Super50 in January this year. ' ' '