Coppin St 56, Wisconsin 80: Opponents are in a zone, but so is Leuer as Badgers coast

Madison, Wis. — Wisconsin senior Jon Leuer has a new moniker: Zone-buster. Thinking his undersized team could identify and stick with UW's shooters by playing a variety of zone defenses, Coppin State coach Fang Mitchell opened with a 1-2-2 zone.

Leuer opened with 4 consecutive three-pointers in the first 2 minute 54 seconds Thursday night at the Kohl Center. That display set the tone as UW shot 50% from three-point range in opening a 19-point halftime lead and won easily, 80-56.

"I was able to knock down my first couple and get into a rhythm," said Leuer, who hit 5 of 10 three-pointers and 7 of 15 field-goal attempts overall to finish with 19 points. "From there my teammates were finding me in open spots. "I just found myself open a lot."

Oates: A nice win against Coppin State, but the fans were shortchanged by the schedule

Coppin State is one of college basketball's vagabond programs. During the non-conference season, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference team travels around from one men's basketball powerhouse to the next, taking its lumps on the floor in return for a nice paycheck.

It wasn't at all surprising, then, that Coppin State showed up to face the University of Wisconsin at the Kohl Center Thursday night. In the midst of a 12-day stretch during which they play at Connecticut, Kentucky and Texas in addition to UW, the overmatched Eagles were representative of the teams that have come to Madison this season.

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ATTENDANCE: 17,230

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Note: Mainstream sportswriters can write all the criticisms they desire regarding Coppin State University basketball program. Call 'em "vagabond program" or any other name...but at the end of the day, the only thing that really matters is that Coach Ron "Fang" Mitchell is providing opportunity, exposure and experience to his players in competing with elite Division I level programs. Most importantly, he is earning enough capital from these "money games" to support ALL the non-revenue athletic programs at CSU. For that alone, Fang Mitchell is a hall of fame coach who provides countless opportunities to urban youth, who otherwise, would not receive an education and travel exposure beyond Baltimore City limits.

The Eagles are 4-5, 0-1 MEAC and NEXT GAME is at #14 ranked Kentucky on Dec. 28.

-beepbeep

Morgan State Bears vs. Minnesota Gophers - ESPNU @ 6 p.m CT TONIGHT.

Morgan State at Gophers (6 p.m. CT, Tuesday, ESPNU)

U faces coach making best of his 2nd chance

Taking over at Morgan State after eight years in exile for a Cal scandal, Todd Bozeman led the team to a MEAC title.

Morgan State doesn't have Cal's prestige, TV contracts, weather or pay scale. And Todd Bozeman has a better chance of winning the lottery than recruiting future NBA lottery picks -- an annual feat for him when he coached Cal in the early '90s -- to the Baltimore-based historically black college that plays in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. But he's content to have a second chance, albeit as head coach of a midmajor program. Bozeman viewed recruiting as a "life or death" pursuit when he took over at Cal as a 29-year-old in 1993. In 1996, he resigned after admitting that he paid the parents of a player $30,000. In 1997, the NCAA banned any school from hiring him without permission for eight years.

After a lengthy hiatus that included a stint in pharmaceutical sales, a wiser Bozeman took over at Morgan State in 2006. And in three years, he took a team that won four games the season before he arrived to a conference championship at the conclusion of the 2008-09 season. The cherry on the sundae of Morgan State's redemption -- and Bozeman's -- was the school's first Division I NCAA tournament bid last season. Bozeman signed a new five-year contract in April. "We've just been trying to build slowly but surely and take positive steps every year," said Bozeman, whose team faces the Gophers tonight at Williams Arena.

U men gameday

Preview: Todd Bozeman has rebuilt Morgan State (5-3), taking the Bears to their first NCAA tournament appearance last season. The Gophers (5-3) hope to get their second victory in a row and continue to shake a startling three-game losing streak.

Key players: Reggie Holmes, a 6-4 guard, averages 24.6 points per game for Morgan State. Stat line for Minnesota's Damian Johnson: 11.6 points, 2.3 blocks and 2.4 steals per game.

Numbers: Minnesota is Morgan State's eighth road opponent in nine games. Entering the week, the Gophers had the Big Ten's top scoring defense (57.6 points allowed per game).

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