There are certain things in this world that are pretty well established: The sky is blue, the grass is green and Wisconsin freshmen have to ride the bench before they earn their way into head coach Bo Ryan's lineup.
Banking a game-winning shot in a crucial conference match on the road?
Unthinkable.
But for UW freshman guard Josh Gasser, the conventional wisdom doesn't seem to apply.
This whole season, Gasser's contributions seem to have always come in the most important moments, an especially rare accomplishment for a freshman.
""As a freshman, to make the kind of plays he does, it gives us a huge lift,"" senior forward Jon Leuer said earlier this season. ""He's helped us out a lot, and he's going to continue to help us out.""
No play has been bigger, however, than the one Wednesday night. As he has all season, Gasser was at his best when the Badgers needed him most.
""He makes those kind of plays all the time that you might not see in the box score,"" junior guard Jordan Taylor said after the Badgers' win over Ohio State Feb. 12. ""He is just a kid that is hard-nosed and will stick his face. He makes those plays consistently, and those are winning plays. He is a great all-around player and that is what makes him so good.""
After catching some eyes at the season-opening ""Field House Madness"" scrimmage, Gasser worked his way into the rotation before exploding onto the scene with a 21-point, nine-rebound debut in the season-opener against Prairie View A&M.
""I wasn't expecting that at all,"" Gasser said at the time. ""I was just out there doing whatever I could to help us win.""
As much as it flew against the foundations of the Bo Ryan system, the second best debut in program history left Ryan with little choice but to give Gasser the start against North Dakota.
In today's college basketball landscape, starting a freshman is commonplace. But at Wisconsin, it's breaking news. With the start against the Sioux, Gasser became just the third player in the Bo Ryan era to start a game as a freshman, the other two carrying the last names of Harris and Tucker.
""I didn't think I'd have this much impact even two or three years down the road,"" Gasser said. ""I just came in wanting to find my role, and my role is bigger than I thought it would be, but I'm fine with it.""
But being thrust into the lineup and into the spotlight took a bit of adjustment for the freshman, not only in terms of his on-the-court play, but perhaps even more so in his transition into the life of a college basketball player.
""It's a lot more mental. It takes more focus and you've got to study the game a lot more [than you do in high school],"" he said. ""It's a grinding season [and] it takes a toll on your body, but once you get past that, it's alright.""
For the first 112 years of Wisconsin basketball, no Badger player had ever posted a triple-double. Gasser certainly topped the list of unlikely candidates to break this drought. His previous career high in assists was just four and, after all, he was just a freshman.
But on Jan. 23 at Northwestern, in front of 100 fans bused in from his home town of Port Washington, Gasser quickly put up 10 first-half points, nearly matching his previous Big Ten total of 13. Gasser finished the game with 10 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Just a footnote in Wisconsin basketball a year ago, Gasser rewrote the history books.
In just his first year, Gasser has burst onto the scene with a triple-double, a game-tying three against the top-ranked team in the nation, and a buzzer-beating game winner on the road against Michigan.
And yes, this is still Bo Ryan basketball. And yes, the sky is still blue. But for Josh Gasser and the next three years, that sky's the limit.
