Player of the Week: Brian Butch
No one player dominated the week for Wisconsin, which split its two games but never played all that well in a win over Michigan at home and a loss at Purdue over the weekend.
Still, senior forward Brian Butch singlehandedly gave the Badgers a chance in West Lafayette, Ind., scoring 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting while pulling down 13 boards.
The double-double was the 11th of the big man's career and he hit both of his 3-point attempts in the game. The second of those 3-pointers came during a 7-0 run late in the game that shrunk a nine-point Purdue lead down to two. It was also a quick shot taken with confidence, something that has not been there for Butch, who is only 5-for-34 from beyond the arc this season.
You just shoot the ball,"" Butch said. ""Any time you start over-thinking it is when you really go down in a slump. If it's there I'm going to shoot it. You just keep going.""
Butch is a 29 percent career 3-point shooter.
On Deck: Indiana, at Minnesota, at Iowa
After playing just one game in nine days, Wisconsin will start a stretch of three games in just seven days, including back-to-back road games at Minnesota Sunday and at Iowa next Wednesday.
First, No. 11 Indiana (6-0 Big Ten, 17-2 overall) comes to the Kohl Center Thursday night to test its undefeated Big Ten record against the No. 13 Badgers (6-1, 16-3). In what is the biggest conference game of the season to date, both teams are coming off losses Saturday as Indiana fell to UConn at home and Wisconsin fell victim to Purdue.
Both Minnesota (2-4, 12-6) and Iowa (3-5, 10-11) should provide tough road tests for Wisconsin, which is 4-2 away from home this season. The Gophers played Indiana and Michigan State tough at home, losing to both by just three points. Those losses are part of three-game losing streak, however. Iowa, meanwhile, rebounded from an 0-3 start in Big Ten play with a win at home over Michigan State and a 68-60 victory at Michigan.
Game of the Week: No. 11 Indiana at No. 13 Wisconsin, Thursday 8 p.m.
Indiana's 15-game win streak came to an abrupt end Saturday and now the Hoosiers have to travel to the Kohl Center, where only one Big Ten team (Illinois, twice) has defeated Bo Ryan.
Both of these teams have been criticized for a soft start to the Big Ten season, and this will be the toughest test of Indiana's entire season thus far. IU has only played one ranked team, and that was then-No. 22 Southern Illinois, which has been disappointing since.
One of these teams will suffer its second loss in a row. The Badgers especially need a win with only two days to prepare for a tough road test at Minnesota Sunday.
UW is 5-1 under Bo Ryan at the Kohl Center when both teams are ranked - the only loss being to No. 1 Illinois Jan. 25, 2005.
Looking on the bright side
While the Badgers were having the court stormed on them for the fourth time in two seasons, Ryan was taking advantage of the bleak situation
""I thought people threw loose money out on the court,"" he said. ""I was looking for some fives. I wasn't going to dive into the students for ones. I was looking for fives and tens.""
He also started his post-game press conference by claiming: ""My mom text messaged me and said [Flowers'] hand was pulled,"" referring to the senior's late drive to the hoop that was blocked by Purdue freshman Robbie Hummel.
""I'm just kidding,"" Ryan said, later admitting that his mother does not even own a cell phone.
At least he wasn't taking the loss too hard.
