[media-credit name=’Ben Smidt’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]The Badger men’s basketball team suffered its first loss in its first road game this season over the weekend, losing to Pepperdine 75-61 in Malibu.

Despite being tied at 34 at halftime, Wisconsin was forced to play behind for the entire second half, as 22 turnovers spelled demise for the Badgers as they fall to 2-1 on the season.

Although the Badger offense sputtered at times, shooting a dismal 3-17 from three-point range, head coach Bo Ryan gives the credit to Pepperdine head coach Paul Westphal and the Waves.

“Pepperdine has players that have played and done what they do with more experience than what our team had going in, especially on the perimeter,” Ryan said. “We need to take that and learn from it. It’s a different environment [on the west coast], but it is still players making plays. You got to prepare to handle whatever the team brings at you. Whether they play man-zone or what type of pressure, it is still about decision making with the ball. We knew it was going to take a little time with these guys and that is what we’ve got to get them to experience and be able to handle.”

West Coast teams provide a unique challenge, and most Midwest and East Coast teams do not schedule road games against West Coast teams because of the physical play that characterizes West Coast basketball and the travel strains a trip to California posses, Ryan said.

By scheduling a road game against Pepperdine, Ryan anticipated a challenging matchup and thought his squad would benefit from being exposed to the fast-paced game played on the West Coast.

“A lot of our fans said after the game, ‘No wonder we don’t see Wisconsin out here on the West Coast very often,'” Ryan said. “Those are games that other schools were looking at and going, ‘What are you guys doing that for?’ Well, you schedule these games because you know you got a team that is playing in their friendly confines and they are going to come after you hard and it’s going to be a battle. Then you try to do the best you can and if you come out on the short end, you have things to show your players as to why you lost and you need to get better from that.”

ACC/ Big Ten Challenge: The ACC/ Big Ten Challenge has not been friendly to the Big Ten over the years, as the ACC has won the challenge every year of the tournament’s five-season history. Last year the ACC dominated the challenge, winning seven of the nine games.

The Badgers have also struggled in the challenge, posting a 1-4 record in ACC/Big Ten Challenge play. Wisconsin’s only win came against Maryland in 2000, when the Badgers won 78-75 in overtime. For Ryan, the focus is on playing a quality opponent rather then winning the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

“I don’t know how important the [ACC/Big Ten Challenge] is to any one coach,” Ryan said. “It’s a first semester, non-conference game and it’s against a quality opponent. The fact is there are some teams that are better prepared in November. Some teams have more players back and some coaches are working players into different positions. I mean, you have the challenge in November. If you have the challenge in February, it might mean a difference. So, you just have to prepare the best you can with what you have in November. We’re just going to try and do our part and, more importantly, try to play a good basketball game.”