Wisconsin Basketball Makes it 5 of 6 in a Close Loss to Iowa
Here we are again, another Wisconsin Basketball game and another loss for the Badgers. This one is surely one of the more difficult ones to swallow of the many recent losses as the Badgers appeared to have the game close to wrapped up until the final few minutes. The first half started strong for Wisconsin as the Badgers of a former distant memory made an appearance with quality team basketball on the offensive side, and team defensive that finally started to look like traditional Wisconsin Basketball. Bronson Koenig also appeared as a bright spot as the Senior Guard appeared to finally be recovered from his nagging leg injury. Even the bench played better in tonight’s contest as Jordan Hill finally started to qualify his minutes with a second half steal and rebound that sparked a Badger run.
Must Read: Wisconsin Football: Badgers Underway at NFL Combine
However in the second half, more focused the final minutes the Badgers were unable to put the game away. A poorly coached final three minutes allowed the Hawkeyes to climb back from a late deficit, as the Badgers were unable to handle the Hawkeye press in the late stretches of the game. As the Badgers continued to struggle to convert at the free throw line, the Hawkeyes outscored the Badger 7-0 to end the game. The dagger finally came as Hawkeyes point guard Jordan Bohanon hit the game winning three pointer with just a few ticks left on the clock handing the Badgers their fifth loss in six games. But hey, they’re still setting records right?
DEEP STAT: The Badgers tie the single-season record for most consecutive losses by a ranked team against an unranked team.
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 3, 2017
Many Badger fans are truly at a loss for words right now, its the same old same old at this point and Coach Gard truly appears to have no immediate answer to the issues Wisconsin Basketball is having. With the loss, the Badgers are officially eliminated from Big Ten Title contention, and likely fall down another line in March Madness to a possible 7 seed. With one more game to go at home against Minnesota, the Badgers will have to turn it around of we could be down to just 3 or 4 more games in what has been a very disappointing season.