Seeing the court stormed after a loss is never something you want to see. Take that from the Badgers.
""It's like seeing your girlfriend with another guy right in front of you,"" junior guard Michael Flowers said.
The nation's longest winning streak (17 games) came to a close as the No. 2 Wisconsin Badgers (7-1 Big Ten, 21-2 overall) lost 71-66 to the No. 25 Indiana Hoosiers (6-2, 16-5) at Assembly Hall.
Despite a valiant comeback effort, including late hot shooting from senior guard Kammron Taylor, the Badgers fell to IU. The loss is the Badgers first true road loss of the season (they lost on a neutral court to Missouri State) and their first Big Ten loss as well.
""A lot of teams would die to be in our position, so we're not going to dwell on it,"" Taylor said. ""That streak's not going to win us the Big Ten. That's our focus right now and our focus is the next game.""
After Indiana caught fire and went on a 17-2 run, the Badgers trailed by 10, 53-43 more than halfway through the second half. An 8-0 run got the Badgers right back in it and after Taylor hit two back-to-back 3 pointers, the Badgers tied the game at 59.
But the Hoosiers would score and not look back. Indiana guard A.J. Ratliff scored five consecutive points as the Hoosiers took off. The junior was the spark plug for the IU. He scored 18 of his season and team-high 20 points in the second half, including four 3-pointers.
""He stepped up when they needed plays, and he got hot,"" said senior forward Alando Tucker, who had a game-high 23 points. ""He made some incredible shots and when a player gets hot like that, we have to find a way to stop him.""
But the Badgers did not find a way to win. Tucker missed the front end of a one-and-one with a minute left and UW down by four and after sophomore forward Marcus Landry ripped down a rebound off of a D.J. White miss, sophomore forward Joe Krabbenhoft missed an open three from the corner.
As the buzzer sounded, the IU students rushed the court. Though UW head coach Bo Ryan sarcastically noted that he did not see the flurry of fans, the players certainly acknowledged it following the game. Tucker, though, wanted his teammates to feel humbled by the experience.
""I hope all of my teammates saw that and took that to heart. I definitely took it to heart to have the court stormed on us,"" Tucker said.
White scored 16, at times scoring at will inside against the Badger big men. Earl Calloway and Roderick Wilmont had nine and eight points, respectively. Taylor scored 15 and Landry and Flowers chipped in with nine apiece for UW.
The game was sloppy early. The teams combined for 16 first-half turnovers, though the Badgers committed seven in the first nine minutes. Wisconsin ended up with 14, and the Hoosiers wound up committed 12 overall.
For Indiana, with Ohio State and Michigan State not coming to Assembly Hall this season, the matchup with the Badgers is by far the biggest game Hoosiers fans will see all year at home, and UW certainly saw the intensity in the arena Wednesday night.
""The crowd was powerful from beginning to end, and I've never been a part of having fans rush the court like that,"" Taylor said. ""We knew it was a big deal for them. We knew they were going to come out pumped and we didn't do a good job of matching their intensity.""
UW will look to rebound Saturday when they take on the Northwestern Wildcats at home. Tip off is set for 1:07 p.m.
