With the Badgers’ 85-61 victory Sunday night, they locked up a first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament and almost ensured themselves a bid for the NCAA Tournament starting March 19.

While Wisconsin (19-11, 10-8) and its fans were celebrating a victory and its implications, four Badgers — Marcus Landry, Joe Krabbenhoft, Kevin Gullikson and Morris Cain — relished their last game in front of a home crowd.

The Badgers did need a victory to ensure a bye in the Big Ten Tournament, but while emotions were flowing on senior night, Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan believes the team wanted to make sure the seniors’ last game at the Kohl Center was a victory.

“When it’s senior night and things are kind of coming to a close that way, I know that Marcus, Kevin, Joe, Morris, their teammates for them wanted to make sure we finished on a positive note, and I think we did that,” Ryan said.

In terms of keeping a level head on a celebratory day, Krabbenhoft and the rest of the Badgers tried keeping the thought of senior night in the back of their minds.

“Well, I think by the time you’re a senior, you’ve obviously been through it for four years, maybe five for a lot of guys, so you just learned how guys handle it,” Krabbenhoft said. “You just get your teammates ready and you just play like it’s any other game.”

The four seniors all made dents on the scoreboard, including a career-high 19 points for Krabbenhoft, who also led all players with nine rebounds for the game. To go along with Krabbenhoft’s big night, Landry notched seven points, seven rebounds and six assists. Gullikson scored seven points on 3-for-5 shooting and Cain hit his only shot for two points.

“I thought they handled their minutes pretty well, and they were proud to have their Wisconsin uniform on and wrap up their career at home,” Ryan said. “To be a part of what they accomplished, to be a part of what’s transpired over their four years — it’s pretty neat stuff. I know a lot of people would love to be in their shoes.”

Indiana head coach Tom Crean, who saw all of the seniors play while he coached at Marquette as well, was particularly impressed with Krabbenhoft’s performance.

“I’ve been watching [Krabbenhoft] for four years, even before that when he was in high school, and from the day he got here he’s made Bo’s team better,” Crean said. “You know, with his defense, his offense, his toughness, moving the basketball. You just win with guys like, you win and you advance with guys like that.”

In their four years at Wisconsin, the seniors — particularly Krabbenhoft and Landry — made major impacts on the team’s play. Earlier in the season, Landry surpassed the 1,000 point mark for his career, and Krabbenhoft is on pace to break the UW all-time record for most games played on the men’s basketball team.

“In that recruiting class, a lot of coaches go after a lot of players,” Ryan said. “The fact that those two players (Landry and Krabbenhoft) made the scholarship commitments to come here, we were very, very fortunate to have what they were able to bring.”

Even Cain, who appeared in only eight games all season, pumped up the team in the second half with his mid-range jumper to cap off the celebratory evening. According to Landry, Cain’s contributions to the team both on and off the court were invaluable for both him and his teammates.

“It was great just to see Mo out on the court,” Landry said. “It was his dream to play Division I basketball, and he got that chance being here. Whether he played a lot or he played a little bit, you know, it’s a great accomplishment to be a part of something, to walk away with a Big Ten championship.”

Although the Badgers did end the season on a high note, they struggled for much of the season, especially during their six-game losing streak. However, while the Badgers stumbled through January, they came back to go 7-2 the rest of the way to reach the fourth spot in the Big Ten.

According to Krabbenhoft, the team’s ability to recover from the rough stretch of games proves how good of a team the Badgers really are.

“Not everything goes as you always want it,” Krabbenhoft said. “You’ve just got to take your hits and that’s how you can measure a person, measure a team.

“I’m proud of the guys, the coaching staff — everyone stuck together,” he continued. “No one gave up and hung their heads. We just kept fighting, we knew we had the talent, we knew we had the players to win some ball games. It was just a matter of time.”