Men’s Basketball

Charlie Healy

No one rushed the court after UW's upset win over the 5th-ranked Spartans. Why? Cuz they've been there before.

As Wisconsin was on its way to a 67-49 win over #5 Michigan State, I thought “this is better than beating Duke”.

Back in December I remember thinking there weren’t going to be many games that could top an upset win over #6 Duke. Wisconsin was unranked and not getting respect from the national media. The Big Ten had never won a Big Ten – ACC Challenge game, and Wisconsin’s win at the Kohl Center gave the Big Ten their first Challenge win. Seeing a national powerhouse coached by the legendary Coach K made the game extra special. The storming of the court was the icing on the cake.

The Wisconsin Basketball community was in a frenzy for days, if not weeks, following the win. The national media finally gave Bo Ryan and the team the respect they deserved.

In January, #4 Purdue brought their perfect record to Madison. Once again, the Kohl Center proved to be a house of horrors for opponents as the Boilermakers suffered their first loss of the season.

Tuesday night, Tom Izzo and Michigan State were forced to come to Madison with a 9-0 conference record. The crowd was prepared to send the Spartans back to East Lansing with their seventh straight loss at Wisconsin. Bo Ryan has never lost to Michigan State in Madison, a streak that continued with a dominating 67-49 win.

The crowd at the Kohl Center was the loudest I have ever heard. When Wisconsin kept on making shots in the first half, putting the game out of reach early, the fans kept on getting louder. As the final minutes ticked down on a great win, the crowd again roared with approval, and in true Bo Ryan fashion, the students didn’t storm the court. They had their chance against Duke, and as Bo might say, this was just another conference win. This conference win keeps alive the chance of storming the court in early March in celebration of a Big Ten Championship.