Wisconsin’s loss to Iowa was made worse by Sunday’s results

Wisconsin’s loss to Iowa was made worse by Sunday’s results

Wisconsin’s 88-86 overtime loss to Iowa on Saturday was made worse by Sunday afternoon’s results.

The No. 2 Purdue Boilermakers fell, 73-69, at unranked Ohio State. The loss dropped Purdue to 23-3, 12-3 in Big Ten play, opening the conference race with a few games remaining.

It felt as if Wisconsin’s hope of a Big Ten title went out the window when the team lost at Iowa on Saturday. The loss was Wisconsin’s fifth in its last six contests, dropping its record to 17-9, 9-6 in Big Ten play.

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After seeing Purdue lose at Ohio State, it’s hard to not look back at Wisconsin’s loss and wonder how different things would have looked had the team pulled out a win. Wisconsin’s conference deficit would have been just two games, with a head-to-head matchup against Purdue to end the season.

Now, the three-game separation between the two teams may be a bit too much to overcome.

Wisconsin has five conference games remaining: vs. Maryland, at Indiana, vs. Illinois, vs. Rutgers and at Purdue. The Badgers remain mathematically alive. They need to go undefeated and have the Boilermakers somehow go 2-2 over their next four contests.

Getting both of those things to happen would be a tall task.

The Badgers have been on the doorstep of several wins during their losing streak, most notably at Nebraska and at Iowa. It’s hard not to play the what-if game when it comes to those contests and the conference race.

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