Looking to end the regular season on a high note, Wisconsin (23-7, 13-5 Big Ten), looked to improve their Big Ten ranking this week with two key road matchups versus Indiana and Ohio State.
In one of the most dominant performances in UW history, Jordan Taylor put on a show for the ages by dropping 39 points in Bloomington. In leading the Badgers to a 77-67 victory over Indiana (12-19, 3-15), the star guard went 7-of-8 from long distance in one of the most memorable road performances in recent Big Ten history.
Wisconsin–aware of its highly anticipated matchup in Columbus Saturday–didn’t want this to become an unfortunate trap game, as their matchup with Iowa several weeks almost was.
By dropping 39 points in a mere 53 possessions, Taylor showed to the nation that he should have been among the finalists for the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation’s top point guard at the end of the season. Not only should Taylor have been considered a viable candidate, but he might have had a legitimate opportunity at bringing the award back to Madison.
UW was able to withstand a few runs by Indiana and hand the Hoosiers their eighth consecutive defeat against the Badgers, and went into Ohio on a high note, looking to win their fifth consecutive game to close out conference play.
On Feb. 12, Ohio State (29-2, 16-2), came into Madison undefeated and were well on their way to an undefeated season. After building an impressive 15-point second half cushion, the Buckeyes suddenly collapsed, and UW–led by 12 points from Jon Leuer, a brilliant display of shooting from Taylor, and some clutch baskets from Mike Bruesewitz–was able to claw back and hold on to a stunning four-point victory.
The Wisconsin/Ohio State rivalry is slowly but quickly becoming a fierce one. As the Badgers strolled into Columbus looking to continue their recent dominance over OSU in both on the field and the hardwood, a lot of pride was on the line for the Buckeyes. However, after defeating Ohio State in football last fall, OSU was able to handedly defeat the Badgers this time around.
Star freshman Jared Sullinger even explained prior to the game that he would love to beat Wisconsin by 50 points. Heading into the matchup with that mentality seemed to help Ohio State, as they built an impressive 15-point halftime lead on their way to a dominating 93-65 statement victory.
In the game, Ohio State put on one of the greatest displays of shooting in Division I college basketball history. Led by three-point specialist Jon Diebler, who shot 7-of-8 from three-point range, Ohio State literally shot the lights out on the way to an absurd 14-of-15 performance from behind the arc.
If the Badgers want to make a run in the conference tourney as well as in the NCAA Tournament, they cannot afford the defensive lapses that were on display all 40 minutes on Saturday.
Taylor, who was able to continuously score on OSU freshman guard Aaron Craft during the first matchup, was completely shut down this time around. If the Badgers want to make a strong run late in the season, Taylor needs to be on the top of his game night in and night out. In giving up 93 points, the usually reliable Wisconsin defense is in definite need of some tuning up.
After the embarrassing defeat at the hands of Ohio State, the Badgers dropped to No. 13 in the AP poll this week. According to ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi, UW looks to be on their way to holding a No. 4 seed in the March Madness Tournament.
Wisconsin kicks things off in the Big Ten Tournament on Friday versus either Penn State or Indiana in the quarterfinals.