Senior Writer Mike Lucas offered his observations from Wisconsin's 66-60 win over Penn State at the Bryce Jordan Center on Thursday night. Get it straight from the source by following @LucasAtLarge on Twitter.

Put a check mark in the box next to winning a most winnable game. Road wins of any kind carry more weight in RPI. Winning validates winning

— Mike Lucas (@LucasAtLarge) January 22, 2016

UW got early lead from one-two punch. Hayes & Koenig? Nope. Happ & Illikainen combined for 19 points (8-of-11) to fuel 27-18 halftime lead

— Mike Lucas (@LucasAtLarge) January 22, 2016

Penn State didn't get into full-blown Hack-a-Happ but he was put to the test down the stretch at FT line & he showed mettle & clutch gene

— Mike Lucas (@LucasAtLarge) January 22, 2016

Nigel Hayes responded with critical 3-pointer to halt PSU's late run. Doubt anyone was second-guessing his mechanics/stroke after that make

— Mike Lucas (@LucasAtLarge) January 22, 2016

More encouraging than Charlie Thomas scoring 4 points was how he used his muscle/strength to wrestle the ball away from tie-up & draw foul

— Mike Lucas (@LucasAtLarge) January 22, 2016