COLUMBUS, OHIO — The Wisconsin Badgers were at a disadvantage before they even hit the floor Wednesday night against Ohio State. Sophomore forward Greg Stiemsma and freshman forward Marcus Landry were both scratched from the lineup and did not make the trip to Columbus with the rest of the team.

Stiemsma has taken a temporary medical leave of absence from the team for personal reasons, according to a release from the team. Landry, on the other hand, was declared ineligible for the game. A team release did not disclose the reason for his ineligibility, but the Capital Times reports Landry failed to meet academic eligibility standards. It is unclear exactly how much time the two players will be sitting out.

"I have no clue," senior forward Alando Tucker said, when asked if he believes the team will be complete again before the year's end. "Whoever is going to be available to play, we have to be ready."

Both Stiemsma and Landry have been key players off the bench for Wisconsin this season. Stiemsma is leading the team in blocks with 24 (1.5 per game) and is playing over 11 minutes per game, while Landry is averaging 6.4 points and 3.1 rebounds and 15 minutes per contest.

"It was tough," junior guard Kammron Taylor said of having to play without the two forwards. "That is why we are a team and guys have to come together when you are missing different guys."

"Those are two great players and two great teammates and they are going to help us out later on," freshman Joe Krabbenhoft said. "We just have to play with the cards we are dealt."

Head coach Bo Ryan was very pleased with how Krabbenhoft and junior Jason Chappell picked up the slack left by not having Stiemsma and Landry.

"Jason Chappell and Joe Krabbenhoft, they picked up those 27 minutes pretty much and boy, I thought they did a great job," Ryan said.

Butch injury: As if Wisconsin wasn't shorthanded enough to begin with, the Badgers looked like they had lost yet another big contributor late in the first half. With 6:34 left, Butch came down awkwardly on an Ohio State player's shoe and went down in a heap with an apparent ankle injury. He lay flat on the floor for several minutes before getting up and being helped to the locker room.

Butch was able to return after halftime and though he only played eight minutes, he was active and animated. Although he was obviously hindered and in pain, often wincing while running the floor, Butch fought through and scored eight points in the half.

"That is just a token of his heart, stepping up and playing hurt," Tucker said of Butch's performance. "You look down on our bench and you say 'hey, I can't sit out', and he knew that he had to play."

Fatigue not a factor: For most of the game, the Badgers played with only six regular contributors, due to the losses of Stiemsma and Landry and then Butch to injury. Even so, neither the players nor coaches would attribute the Buckeyes' pulling away in the second half to fatigue.

"Ohio State is a great team and fatigue, if there was any, I credit them. They made us work hard," Krabbenhoft said.

Ryan also praised Ohio State for playing a very tight man-to-man defense for much of the game, but did not think that it necessarily lead to his team being winded down the stretch.

"Their guys were all over us, playing very, very aggressive," Ryan said of the Ohio State defense. "I thought [our team] did a heck of a job. They didn't look tired to me. You guys can say they did, but they didn't look tired to me."