Greg Gard had been close many times in recent weeks -- first when he was in a one-possession game with Purdue in the final two minutes, then when he was tied with Maryland in the closing seconds, then when he was knotted with Indiana with 45 ticks left.
So close.
Three different times.
And yet his Wisconsin Badgers lost each game. Which left the school's interim coach still in search of his first signature win since replacing Bo Ryan, who abruptly retired after beating Texas A&M-Corpus Christie last month. Gard entered the weekend with a 2-4 record.