The Badgers had a perfect night offensively against UCLA on Tuesday night, unfortunately the defense didn't travel out to Los Angeles as Wisconsin lost a heartbreaker 83-85. It was a game they felt they should have won, and the Badgers' conference record now drops to 5-3.
Greg Gard laments the conference losses stacking up
"Quite frankly, we feel we should be 7-1 in the league," head coach Greg Gard said in his Friday press conference. "We didn't play up to our abilities, specifically defensively, and as we see, every opponent is a new challenge. It's a long road ahead of us yet, but I like how [the players] have always responded."
Wisconsin's three conference losses to Michigan, Illinois and now UCLA have come by a combined 11 points. A couple defensive stops here and there in each game and the Badgers could easily be 8-0 in conference play and a staggering 18-1 overall. It's easy to play should've-could've in this situations, but Wisconsin is still in a great spot moving forward.
The loss to UCLA was a crushing blow though, mostly because Wisconsin seemed like the better team all night. UCLA's 7-foot-3 Aday Mara had the game of his life, and he needed every bit of it to send the Badgers home with a loss. Still, the Badgers sit in fifth in the current conference standings and are well within striking distance of the top spot.
The conference record may not show it, but the Badgers have been playing lights out this season and are a few close games away from being a top-10 team in the country. They'll have another chance to prove that they belong there this Sunday against Nebraska.