University of Wisconsin men's basketball head coach Bo Ryan likes to use the term "rat game" to describe contests that get sloppy and out of hand. Wisconsin's 71-58 victory over Michigan Wednesday night was just that.
After a first half that saw Wisconsin and Michigan turn the ball over 12 and seven times, respectively, the second half didn't prove to be much better.
The Badgers jumped out to a 47-31 lead with 13 minutes left in the game, but then the game turned into a "rat game."
After Wolverines forward Brent Petway fouled out at the 12:43 mark and received a subsequent technical foul, the game's pace turned into molasses.
Petway's foul was Michigan's seventh team foul, but confusion over who was shooting free throws caused a long stoppage in play as Ryan, Michigan head coach Tommy Amaker and the referees attempted to figure things out.
"The seventh foul was Petway's, then the technical was the eighth," Ryan said. "The technical foul can not cause a one-and-one [free throw], so then it was going to be the technical, then the one-and-one.
"We solved it on our own; it was like being at the playground."
Amaker, however, wouldn't agree so much.
"I'm still not sure [what happened]," Amaker said.
Yet Petway's technical foul difficulty wasn't the only stoppage of play in the second half.
About two minutes on the clock later, Wolverines guard Jerret Smith went down hard after running blindside into a legal Marcus Landry screen.
"He just didn't see me," Landry said. "It's just a part of basketball, and hopefully he's alright."
Smith lay on the floor for an extended period of a time, causing some Badger players to stiffen and cramp up due to the stoppage time. As a result, Ryan made his players run up and down the court to stay loose.
"That's actually what we do in practice," UW junior forward Brian Butch said. "We have stoppages in practice like that, and he just has us jog down and back like that."
The downtime made for a groggy game, but Wisconsin was still able to pull out the win and improve to 20-1 on the season.
"The main thing that we really care about is just getting a win," Butch said. "We don't care how we get it as long as we get a 'W.'"
Devin Harris sighting
Badger-great and current Dallas Mavericks guard Devin Harris was in attendance Wednesday, sitting right behind Wisconsin's bench.
After the last media timeout of the first half, Harris was introduced at mid-court to a loud ovation, as everyone was happy to see him back.
"It's nice to see Devin there at the game," Ryan said.
Harris was sporting a No. 42 Tucker jersey, which made his good friend glad.
"Me and Devin go way back; we're good friends," Tucker said. "Before the game, he told me he was going to go get the jersey. I told him he needs to get me a Dallas jersey now to be even."
Three years after forgoing his senior year to jump to the NBA, Harris still looks the same to his old coach Ryan.
"Devin looks the same," Ryan said. "He still looks like he's in high school."
Badgers are streaking
With the win Wednesday, Wisconsin has now won its 16th straight game — the longest active streak in the nation.
However, it means little to nothing for the Badger players at this point in time.
"In the grand scheme of things, it really means nothing this year," Butch said. "Right now, we're taking it one game at a time.
"Those are all great things to achieve, don't get me wrong," Butch continued. "I'm not trying to downplay them by any means, but right now we're on a mission and just taking it game by game."
At 20-1, the Badgers equaled the best start in school history as the Wisconsin team of 1915-16 also went 20-1. In spite of that, Ryan doesn't think a comparison is fair.
"If our record can compare to a doctor's…" Ryan joked, referring to then-head coach Dr. Walter Meanwell.
"Well our players are excited, I know," he continued. "It's nice to get the next one."
