Badgers beat Gophers

Just when it seemed that Wisconsin men’s basketball had turned a corner with the upset win Sunday at Ohio State, UW got cold yet again at home, somehow surviving a 30 percent shooting effort from the field en route to a 52-45 win over struggling Minnesota.

The first half Tuesday night can best be described as ugly. After making three of their first four shots, the Badgers (11-6 Big Ten, 22-8 overall) were just 1-for-17 from the field over the final 16:26 of the half, their only field goal in that span coming on a three-point shot by senior guard Jordan Taylor with 12:34 remaining. Neither team cracked the 25 percent mark from the field, with the two teams combining for just nine made baskets as the Gophers (5-12, 17-13) took a 23-16 lead into the locker room.

“You just have to go back to thinking of ways to score,” Taylor said. “We were trying to get more movement in the offense. I was able to get a post touch and from there it’s all about being aggressive and trying to make the play.”

To their credit, the Badgers came out strong in the second half. Finally getting a jumper by Taylor to go just over a minute and a half in, UW scored nine of the first 11 points of the half. Wisconsin was finally about to knot the game at 25 after a controversial three-point play by junior forward Mike Bruesewitz that was initially ruled a charge only to be overturned following a lengthy conference amongst the officials.

“An official can make the call and if he is not sure, he can go ask the other official,” head coach Bo Ryan said after the game. “That’s what they did.”

“I thought I got there,” Bruesewitz said. “I thought he was in the circle, that’s why I went up.”

Sparked by their good fortune, the Badgers took control of the game from there. Taylor was back to his usual self after a tough first half, finishing with a game-high 22 points on 4-of-9 shooting and 11-of-12 from the field throw line. Taylor’s 17 second-half points (out of UW’s 36) got the Minnesotan to the twenty-point mark for just the third time this season, with two of them coming against the Gophers.

On the other end it was once again freshman guard Andre Hollins giving the Badgers fits on the defensive end. After coming off the bench to score 20 against UW in Minneapolis, the Memphis, Tenn. native again led the Gophers in scoring, this time with 18 points, 13 of those in the first half alone.

“He took more shots than anyone in the game so I thought he was pretty aggressive,” Minnesota head coach Tubby Smith said of Hollins. “Unfortunately he couldn’t make any of them [in the second half].”

Wisconsin was able to adjust at the half and ultimately that was enough to get them the win they needed to clinch a spot in the top four in the Big Ten standings and thus clinch a first-round bye in next weekend’s Big Ten Tournament.

“We didn’t do a good job of throwing the first blow or getting out to a good start,” Taylor said. “But we did a good job in the second half of turning things around.”

One thing that allowed the Badgers to quickly regain control of the game was their ability to finally get to the free throw line. With Minnesota committing seven fouls in the first 5:35 of the second half, Wisconsin had the benefit of being in the bonus for the majority of the backstretch. The Badgers took advantage, hitting 15-of-20 free throws in the second half en route to a comparatively explosive 36-point output.

“Getting to the free throw line was definitely huge in this game,” junior forward Ryan Evans said. “There were a lot of free throws and that’s where a lot of the points were scored.”

Due in large part to the multitude of free throws, there was never any flow to the game. Neither team seemed comfortable on the offensive end and neither team was able to pull away when they had the chance. Ultimately, Wisconsin was able to cut down on turnovers and make their free throws, the formula necessary to win in these low-scoring games Badger fans should be well accustomed to by now.

While hopes of a Big Ten title were washed away with the Badgers’ 67-66 defeat at Iowa last week, they continue to have plenty at stake with just one game remaining on their regular season schedule. With Illinois coming to town Sunday for senior day, the Badgers still have an outside shot to overtake either Michigan or Ohio State in the standings, in turn avoiding a quarterfinal matchup in the Big Ten Tournament with No. 20 Indiana down in Indianapolis.

More importantly, the Badgers have a chance to finally head into the postseason with momentum.

I hope the Badgers cab make it to the sweet sixteen.  GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Badgers beat Gophers in OT

The No. 21/22 Wisconsin men's basketball team (8-4 Big Ten, 19-6 overall) rebounded from its most recent loss against Ohio State, albeit not easily, as it defeated Minnesota (5-7, 17-8) in the 190th meeting of the Border Battle Thursday night, 68-61 in overtime. This was the Badgers' first win at The Barn since 2008.

"I'd be lying if I said this didn't mean a lot," senior guard Jordan Taylor said. "I'm elated to get a win here [at Minnesota]."

In sports, the saying goes that when one has an opponent down they have to step on their throat and finish them, but the Badgers were unable to do this to the Gophers. The Badgers led comfortably for most of the second half, even leading 49-36 with just under nine minutes left. But there is a reason they call it a rivalry. With the Badgers unable to deal the final blow, Minnesota got on a 15-2 run to tie the game with 1:02 to go. There was no scoring from that point on and the game was forced to overtime.

In the overtime period Wisconsin's nine-minute scoring drought was finally broken by a pair of free throws from sophomore guard Josh Gasser to put the Badgers up by two. Junior forward Ryan Evans then stepped up, hitting a jumper and a pair of free throws to put the Badgers back up by six. The Badgers continued to make their free throws down the stretch to finally vanquish their arch-rival.

The star for Wisconsin was a man who hails from the Land of 10,000 Lakes, senior guard Jordan Taylor. What a homecoming it was for Taylor as he was unstoppable in the first half, making 5-6 shots including 4-4 from three to score 14 points. Although he cooled off in the second half and overtime, he still finished with a game-high 27 points.

Evans also had a big game for the Badgers, posting a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Evans was clutch in the overtime period, leading the Badgers with six points in the extra session.

One of the big reasons for the Badgers' disappointing loss to the Buckeyes on Saturday was their inability to hit the three-point shot, shooting only 5-26 on the day.

This was definitely not the case against Minnesota as the Badgers made nine threes and made more threes in the first half against the Gophers, seven, than they did against Ohio State. This quality three-point performance makes perfect sense if you look at the Badgers' season numbers. The Badgers came into this game shooting 40 percent from three on the road, but only 23 percent at home.

A big reason for this great shooting performance was the unselfish passing the Badgers displayed. Wisconsin found open man after open man, assisting on 13 of their 19 made baskets.

Wisconsin started the game off on fire, making five of their first six shots. Wisconsin then went on a 0-6 cold streak, however, that lasted over six minutes and found them down by two. But Taylor stepped up for the Badgers and propelled the team to a six-point lead by scoring eight straight Badger points. The Badgers would continue the momentum from there, taking a 32-24 lead into halftime.

The team that Wisconsin fans dread to see reappeared once again late in the game as the Badgers went on one of their patented cold stretches and shot 28 percent in the second half.

The leading scorers for the Golden Gophers were freshman guard Andre Hollins with 20 and junior forward Rodney Williams with 16 points.

The Badgers will now have a week to gear up for another Big Ten road showdown against Michigan State next Thursday.

It is good to see the Badgers are living up to the hype.  GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Badgers Beat Penn State

The Wisconsin men's basketball team (7-3 Big Ten, 18-5 overall) got its sixth straight win Tuesday night and now stand alone in second place in the Big Ten, but it did not come as easy as maybe one would have suspected against a 12-loss Penn State team.

Penn State came out like a team with nothing to lose in the first half, giving the Badgers all they could handle and taking a 23-17 lead into halftime.

Despite taking the Badgers' best shot, Penn State would not go down without a fight. Leading the charge for the Lions in the second half was junior guard Tim Frazier. The Big Ten's second-leading scorer answered every time it looked like the Badgers were going to pull away, scoring 17 of his game-high 21 in the second half.

With the Wisconsin lead cut down to 40-38, senior guard Jordan Taylor once again stepped up for the Badgers and hit a big three to put the Badgers back up by five. Taylor and the rest of the Badgers hit their free throws down the stretch and Badgers were able to hold on for a 52-46 win.

Taylor finished with a team-high 18 points, with most of them coming in crunch time as he scored 13 of the Badgers last 16 points.

The Badgers' shooting woes reared their ugly head once again in the first half of the game as the Badgers missed 19 of their first 26 shots, including nine of their first 11 three-pointers. Reliance on the outside shot combined with anemic shooting kept the Badgers in single digits for the first 16 minutes of the game.

Penn State on the other hand exploited the normally sound Badger defense in the first half, shooting 46 percent from the field.

Penn State also dominated Wisconsin on the glass as the Nittany Lions outrebounded the Badgers by seven in the first half.

The leading scorer for Penn State in the first half was sophomore guard Jermaine Marshall, scoring 10 points on 5-7 shooting.

Wisconsin turned things around in the second half by making an early emphasis to get the ball inside. By pounding the paint, the Badgers got easy inside shots and regained the lead. Junior center Jared Berggren and junior forward Ryan Evans were instrumental in the Badger comeback, scoring Wisconsin's first 10 second-half points.

The Badgers also shot the ball much better in the second half overall, making 10 of their 22 second-half shots.

Wisconsin returned to form defensively as well, holding Penn State to 7-of-26 shooting.

The Badgers will now gear up for a showdown at the Kohl Center with Big Ten leader Ohio State at 1:00p.m. Saturday. If the Badgers are able to win this game, they will take the outright lead in the Big Ten standings.

One thing is for certain, the Badgers will have to be much more consistent offensively and defensively if they are going to have any chance of beating a team with as much offensive firepower as the Buckeyes.  

Let's hope the Badgers can go on a roll when tournament time comes around.  GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Badger Basketball is picking up

Just two weeks ago it appeared the Wisconsin men’s basketball team’s (5-3 Big Ten, 16-5 overall) season was headed for disaster. With three straight losses, including a rare stretch of back-to-back home losses the Badger’s streak of 12 consecutive NCAA tournament births was in jeopardy. Fast forward just sixteen days later and Wisconsin suddenly finds itself only a half game out of first place in the conference after an impressive four-game Big Ten winning streak.

“So much of the schedule is who you play, when you play, who you played before, how many days off you get,” head coach Bo Ryan said.

Indeed the fickle nature of college basketball scheduling can sometimes either emphasize the struggles of a team, causing a team to quickly pile up loses, or trigger a win streak in a similar stretch if a team is hot.

“Because of the popularity and media coverage of college basketball, no sport is as controlled as college basketball,” Ryan said.  “Some weeks you could be playing on Monday-Tuesday, or Tuesday-Thursday, Thursday-Sunday, or you could have nine days off.”

Right now the schedule is working for the Badgers, as a combination of hot shooting and improved defense has allowed Ryan’s group to pull out a string of quality conference wins, including impressive road wins over Purdue (4-3, 14-6) and Illinois (4-3, 15-5).

“Anytime you have an object that you are trying to put in a target, you will have some nights that are better than others,” Ryan said. “In basketball you have the defensive end, which can allow you to fight through slumps and give you a chance to win.”

Improved quality and consistency from All-American senior point guard Jordan Taylor has elevated the Badger’s play during the win streak. During conference play, Taylor has taken more control of the offense, which at different points has yielded mixed results. During the four-game winning streak, Taylor’s play has brought the team out of shooting slumps and has kept them in close games.

“Jordan is always going to find a way to make the team more successful; which is what all players will do. It’s just he’s better at it,” Ryan said.

The Badgers look to continue their streak this week against No. 17 Indiana (4-4, 16-4) who come in as a surprising contender for the Big Ten title after finishing in the conference’s bottom tier for two consecutive seasons. After posting wins against the likes of No. 1 Kentucky and No. 2 Ohio State, the first time in Indiana’s prestigious basketball history that the basketball team beat a No. 1 and a No. 2 team in the same season, many are projecting Indiana to make a run deep into March. The credit goes to Indiana head coach Tom Crean, who has been able to attract talent back to Indiana with the likes of freshmen forward sensation Cody Zeller (15.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg). Combining young talent with the veteran presence that has learned Crean’s system has gotten the Hoosiers back into college basketball’s elite programs.

“There’s a lot of the same players, they have the experience and have played in the toughest environments,” Ryan said. “90 percent of [Indiana] players have been there for a long time. Everyone in the conference expected them to be good this year.”

Finding a way to contain Zeller will be key for Wisconsin. In addition, limiting Indiana offensively as a team will be key, as the Hoosiers shoot 50 percent from the field, which is sixth in the nation. The Badgers are up for the challenge, as they lead the conference in opponent field goal percentage. Wisconsin has been especially stifling from behind the arc, as it is allowing opponents to only shoot 26 percent from three-point range.

“There are a lot of things that go into that. Like other teams we look at a scouting report and try to stay consistent with our roles,” Ryan said. “There’s no magic formula, just a lot of hard work from our players who try to limit our opponent’s looks.”

Let's hope the Badgers can return to the NCAA tournament and make some waves.  GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Badgers advance to Sweet 16

Having to come from behind yet again, the Badgers looked very much at home in erasing a six-point deficit over the final eight minutes to grab a 70-65 win over Kansas State (23-11).

In order to move on to the Sweet 16 next weekend in New Orleans, UW (25-8) had to overcome a poor shooting night for junior guard Jordan Taylor (2-of-16 from the field) while also matching the points that Kansas State senior guard Jacob Pullen put up on seemingly every possession. Pullen finished with 38, but the loss means that his career performance will also be his last in a Wildcat uniform.

Though Pullen clearly came out victorious in what many media types had billed "Jacob vs. Jordan," Jordan will be the one in uniform for Thursday's regional semifinal.

"The scoreboard on the bottom of the TV doesn't say Jordan vs. Jacob," Taylor said after the game. "It says Wisconsin vs. Kansas State, and we won."

With Taylor unable to get going on the offensive end, it was up to the supporting cast to keep the Badgers' season alive.

Senior forward Tim Jarmusz had eight points on 3-3 shooting. Freshman guard Josh Gasser collected 11 points on 3-4 shooting from the field, adding seven rebounds and four free throws in the process, the last two of those icing the game with 1.1 seconds to play.

"We just made plays," senior forward Jon Leuer said. "Everybody stepped up, right down the line."

But perhaps the biggest contribution came from sophomore forward Mike Bruesewitz. No longer known simply as the team redhead, the hero of the Feb. 12 victory over No. 1 Ohio State came through again. In only his second game since suffering what, at the time, appeared to be a serious knee injury in the Big Ten Tournament, Bruesewitz gave UW 11 points and six rebounds. None of those points were bigger than the three that came with just over 90 seconds to play, giving the Badgers the lead for good.

"He's done it against Ohio State and he did it again tonight," Taylor said. "He's one of the toughest kids I've known and he's a heck of a teammate."

After relying on the production of Taylor and Leuer for much of the season, the supporting cast seems to have found its footing just in time for a tournament run. Ultimately, the 15 bench points, not to mention the 19 from Gasser and Jarmusz, proved to be the difference with UW's two first team All-Big Ten performers just 8-of-26 combined from the field.

"I think guys are realizing that we need to be confident," Bruesewitz said. "Confidence is a big thing in March."

While the shooting stats seem to indicate a night of frustration for Taylor, he was able to control possession throughout the game and make plays down the stretch that were crucial in getting UW out on the left side of the scoreboard.

"His 6-to-0 assist to turnover ratio says that he stayed focused when he was having a rough time scoring," UW head coach Bo Ryan said. "He's a taskmaster of his own skills and his own abilities and he's not going to throw the rest of it away simply because some things have gotten away from him."

Taylor controlled the Wisconsin offensive and kept his leadership role, eventually making a big play of his own by blocking Pullen's attempt at a game-tying three-point shot.

"I was just trying to do something to slow him down and play my part in the win," Taylor said. "And that happened to be it."

Despite some who have criticized Wisconsin's style for its lack of excitement, the Badgers are in the Sweet 16 and remain alive for a title run.

"We come out and play hard every day," Taylor said. "If people think we're boring, there are a lot of channels on TV they can watch."

"We just try to be on the left-hand side when the buzzer sounds," Ryan said.

Ultimately, the Badgers did just that in both games in Tucson and earned their way into a regional date in New Orleans against No. 8-seed Butler Thursday.

It sure would be nice if the Badgers can make to the Final Four.  GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Badgers Looking Forward to Big Ten Tournament

Well, that certainly was not how Wisconsin men’s basketball coach Bo Ryan wanted his team to end the regular season.

The Badgers head to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Tournament this weekend, fresh off a 28-point shellacking compliments of No. 1 Ohio State on Sunday. The Badgers were helpless against the scalding Ohio State shooters, most notably senior Jon Diebler, who scored 27 points and made all but one of his eight three-point shots.

“He’s on fire, he’s really comfortable. He hit 10 against Penn State [earlier in the week]. We did a hell of a job, we held him to seven,” Ryan joked in his press conference Monday.

All kidding aside, Diebler led the Buckeyes to the best single-game three-point shooting percentage in NCAA history Sunday (minimum of 10 attempts), going 14 for 15 as a team. Ryan attributed their nearly flawless play to the lack of pressure the Buckeyes felt. Purdue, second in the Big Ten and nipping at the Buckeyes’ heels for the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, were upset by Iowa the day before, giving the Buckeyes sole possession of the regular season conference championship.

“They were like, ‘Hey, there won’t be any tie.’ They let it all hang out,” Ryan said.

If it’s looking for redemption, Wisconsin has a chance at a rubber match against Ohio State in this weekend’s Big Ten Tournament. If the Badgers and Buckeyes each win their first two games, they will play each other on Sunday for a third time this season, with the Big Ten Tournament Championship on the line.

Perhaps more importantly, the Badgers could improve their seeding in the NCAA tournament, which begins the following Thursday. The Badgers are projected by ESPN to earn either a 3-seed or a 4-seed in the field of 68, depending on the selection committee’s opinion of the team.

Ryan, however, does not like to play the guessing game that goes with seeding the tournament.

“I gave up a long time ago trying to figure out how those things are done,” Ryan said. “So I don’t know, to speculate probably wouldn’t do any good.”

The Badgers do know they have the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, due to their 13-5 conference record.

Wisconsin’s first game of the tournament will be Friday night at Conseco Fieldhouse, and the Badgers will play the winner of the game between Penn State and Indiana. The Badgers have played extremely well against both teams, winning 13 of the last 14 against the Nittany Lions and eight straight against the Hoosiers.

Ryan also talked about the upperclassman leadership for the Badgers, especially junior point guard Jordan Taylor, who has had a phenomenal season.

Taylor, who averaged over 20 points per game in Big Ten games and led the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio, is one of 11 finalists for the Cousy Award, which is given annually to the best point guard in the country.

Ryan had nothing but praise for his standout point guard, believing he deserved his all-first team Big Ten honors.

“You would hope a guy like that would be unanimous, because I don’t know if any guy in the league did more for their team than he did,” Ryan said. “We’re looking at assists. We’re looking at defense; he should be on the all-defensive team. He’s just had that kind of season where he’s made things happen for his teammates and himself. He put us where we are. He’s earned it.”

Let's hope that the Badgers can start a roll now that it is tournament time.  GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Badgers Beat #1 Ohio State

In Saturday's clear-cut marquee match-up, the No. 14 Wisconsin men's basketball team stunned top-ranked and previously unbeaten Ohio State (21-1 Big Ten, 24-1 overall) by finishing the game on a 39-20 run to pick up a 71-67 victory.

With the victory, Wisconsin becomes just the eighth school to take down a top-ranked team in both football and basketball during the same school year, and just the second to do so against the same school (Florida pulled the trick against Ohio State in 2006-‘07).

Sophomore forward Mike Bruesewitz might have made the play of the game with a clutch three in the final minute, but junior guard Jordan Taylor left little doubt about player of the game honors.  After struggling to just six first-half points, Taylor shined in the second half, leading the Badger comeback with 21 second half points including 10 over a three minute stretch that ultimately saw UW erase a 15 point deficit with a 15-0 run.

"We just had to toughen up," Taylor said. "They made a run and we knew we had a run in us."

If there were any doubters about Taylor's rightful place as one of the nation's best, this 27-point, seven assist,  four-rebound performance should silence them now.

"What he did there," UW head coach Bo Ryan said. "I don't think there's too many players in the country, not just this year but all time, who've done that, especially against the number one team."

What shined through in Saturday's win was the resiliency that, by all accounts, defines this year's Wisconsin squad. The Badgers not only overcame a double-digit deficit against the top team in the nation, but did so just three days after battling their way to an overtime victory in Iowa City against the struggling Hawkeyes.

"To do what they did and have those kind of legs and arms, to have Ohio State get the lead they got and then get the lead ourselves," Ryan added. "I don't know what else you can say about these guys about how tough they are."

As many expected, the crowd played a huge role in bringing down the Buckeyes. While a Buckeye run early in the second half seemed to knock the crowd out of it, Taylor responded with back-to-back threes to cut the lead to seven with 11:22 left. More importantly, however, he brought the raucous crowd back onto their feet.

"He came down and gave us back-to-back threes and got us right back into it," senior forward Jon Leuer said. "From there, we had the momentum, you could just feel the energy in the building."

Averaging over 18 points a game coming into Saturday, Leuer struggled against a physical Ohio State front line that held the Naismith Award candidate to just 12 points and six rebounds on 5 of 14 shooting.

Even with Taylor's career day, Leuer's struggles made the contributions from Bruesewitz and freshman guard Josh Gasser all the more crucial in the Badgers' 17th straight home victory.

"We talked about having [Bruesewitz] be the guy who beats us," Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said after the game. "And today, he did."

In addition to Bruesewitz's 12 crucial points off the bench (capped off by the aforementioned three-pointed), Gasser once again stepped up when needed most, going for 11 points and seven rebounds. Not counted in those stats, though, was a pivotal tip late in the ballgame that allowed Leuer to secure an offensive rebound and maintain possession.

"He makes those kinds of plays all the time that you might not see in the box score," Leuer said. "But he's the kind of kid who's hard-nosed and sticks his face into the ball."

Despite the late drama, the energy of the crowd suggested very few of the 17,000 plus that packed the Kohl Center would have imagined the comeback possible when the Buckeye lead stood at 47-32. But somehow, someway, the Badgers found a way to win with their backs against the wall, completing just the sixth comeback of 15 points or more in program history.

While the Badgers are certainly going to celebrate the win, they already have an eye on a road test against Purdue coming up Wednesday night.

 "This was a huge win for us to keep moving forward but we're not done yet," Leuer added. "We feel like we still have a lot of work left to do and we're just trying to get better every day so we can be playing our best basketball down the stretch."

It looks like Bucky is getting hot at the right time.  Can you say Final Four????

 GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wisconsin Falls Short At No. 12 Purdue

At times in the second half it seemed like Wisconsin was throwing everything it could at No. 12 Purdue.
And at night’s end it was just enough to fall short.
As senior point guard Trevon Hughes’ final runner bounced off the rim, No. 16 Wisconsin (6-3 Big Ten, 16-5 overall) lost the chance to earn a rare win over Purdue (5-3, 17-3) in Mackey Arena. The final score was 60-57, but that does not tell the story of a second half that featured several big momentum swings and a slew of important shots in the game’s final minute.
“It was especially frustrating tonight because I felt like a couple times we had [them in] a position where we kind of wanted them,” junior forward Keaton Nankivil said. “In both cases I thought we had some good stuff going, but I guess they made plays down the stretch and we struggled a couple times.”
The Badgers were up 38-31 early in the second half, but Purdue refused to let them pull away, going on a 9-0 spurt. Sophomore guard Jordan Taylor stemmed the run for a moment with a pair of free throws, but Purdue then dropped eight more on the Badgers.This time it was Wisconsin that did not fold.
“We were, maybe to some people, buried a little bit,” Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan said. “When it’s 48-40 and playing as hardnosed as both our teams are, that’s a deep deficit to come back from, and we did. So I like that part, and just possession for possession, at the end they got a little more than us.”
The Badgers rallied behind Nankivil’s shooting, and his 3-pointer from the top of the key with 43 seconds left gave them a 57-56 edge. On the other end, junior guard E’Twaun Moore responded, working off a screen from junior teammate JaJuan Johnson and dropping a floater in the lane to retake the advantage for good.
Ryan put the ball in Hughes’ hands, but the only shot he could get was a pressured 3-pointer from the corner that did not draw iron but bounced out of bounds off a Purdue player. Hughes got another chance with six seconds left, but his driving bank shot over a crowd of defenders went a bit too hard off the glass.
Let's hope the Badgers can rebound and return to their winning ways. GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!