Wisconsin basketball fans knew there would be growing pains this season with such a young team. But the lessons on late game execution are getting repetitive and expensive for the Badgers.
After coughing up late leads against a trio of ranked foes (Xavier, Baylor, UCLA) it happened again on Wednesday. This time, the host Temple Owls were the beneficiaries.
A combination of dreadful officiating and poor offensive operation were the culprits. The Badgers had a 55-52 lead with 3:31 to go after an Aleem Ford basket.
After Ethan Happ was raked across the wrist (no foul called of course) on a layup Temple got the ball back.