Wisconsin is in a dark place
After getting manhandled on the road by Purdue and Michigan State in two of its last three games, Wisconsin was reeling a bit coming into this one, a predicament that was made even worse by King’s unexpected absence. As a result, I was sure the Badgers were going to get blown out of the gym against a red-hot Iowa team.
Instead, they impressed me by bouncing back from their pitiful showing against the Boilermakers and playing with physicality, hustle and heart, and deserve credit for nearly coming out of Carver-Hawkeye with a win. That being said, this was a golden opportunity that Wisconsin wasted.
The Badgers had a chance to pick up a galvanizing victory in a game in which seemingly everything was going against them. A win over the Hawkeyes would have given them yet another impressive Big Ten road victory that could have done wonders in solidifying their NCAA Tournament stock. Instead, as mentioned, they flat-out choked down the stretch and gave the game away.
The result? A team left nursing its wounds from the most devastating loss of the season, and that is now staring down the loss of arguably its best player for an indefinite amount of time, perhaps for good. To make matters worse, Wisconsin’s next two games include a date with No. 14 Michigan State on Saturday in Madison, followed by a road matchup against Minnesota. As of now, I would wager that the Badgers lose both of those games.
These are dark days, folks.