If losing builds character, both the Wisconsin Badgers and Penn State Nittany Lions have had enough of it.
With the Badgers (4-3 Big Ten, 11-9 overall) and the Nittany Lions (1-5, 5-12) recovering from 30-point blowouts Wednesday, motivation is not hard to find. For the Badgers, it comes from an interesting source'within.
While playing the game will be not a problem, finding a reason for what happened Wednesday is a bit more difficult.
Junior guard Kirk Penney was at a loss for what happened at Illinois other than to say it has strengthened his motivation to play Saturday.
\Just thinking about [the Illinois game] fires you up [to play],"" Penney said.
A similar situation presented itself before, when the Badgers traveled to Penn State four days after knocking off then-No. 7 Illini.
Neither team shot particularly well the last time these two squads faced off against each other Jan. 9 at Happy Valley, Pa. While the Nittany Lions shot 25 percent from the floor in the first half, the Badgers could not take advantage due to some outside shooting woes of their own, trailing Penn State by three at half.
With the second half came a 19-6 UW run that put the Badgers up 40-30 with nine minutes remaining. However, the Badgers allowed Penn State to stage a furious 21-9 run at the end of the game to pull out a 51-49 victory.
UW Head Coach Bo Ryan explained what occurred during the final stretch.
""Basically, in that game, you go up 40-30 and go six, seven possessions without a score and not extend that lead when you have them where you want them'that's where the game got away from us,"" Ryan said.
Though the Illini talked of revenge for their earlier loss to UW, the Badgers refuse to let that extra motivation alter their objective'a home victory.
While the Badgers may look to make some defensive adjustments, the second time Wisconsin plays Penn State, preparation is slightly easier because the Badgers know the tendencies of the Nittany Lions and can anticipate some plays.
However, sophomore guard Freddie Owens' ability to penetrate the defense may be the key to the Badgers' fortune Saturday.
One only needs to look back at the tape of the Wisconsin-Michigan State game to see the successful results from this approach.
