Coming into back-to-back ranked contests, the University of Wisconsin’s women’s basketball team (11-17, 3-14 Big Ten) lost four in a row and 10 of their last 12 matchups — most of them convincingly — leaving little momentum to carry towards potential upsets. Home court advantage proved non-existent against No. 7 Maryland (23-4, 18-2) and No. 18 Northwestern (24-3, 14-2).
The Badgers, after struggling mightily for four quarters against the Iowa Hawkeyes, returned home to find more of the same from another top 25 rival. Maryland quickly dispelled upset hopes and silenced the already eerily empty Kohl Center — running to a 19 point lead in just the first quarter and holding Wisconsin under 10 points to establish the flow of the game.