When it seemed like everything was in their favor, the Wisconsin Badgers broke down in an ugly way on Saturday, dropping an 86-75 game to the Penn State Nittany Lions at home during the final game of the regular season.
The defeat was crushing for the Badgers, as they had a lot of implications riding on Saturday. With a win, Wisconsin would’ve clinched a top-four seed in the Big Ten Tournament and the coveted double-bye.
That dream inched closer to a reality on Friday night when the Purdue Boilermakers lost to the Illinois Fighting Illini, dropping them out of a tiebreaker and clearing the path for the Badgers to control their own destiny.