Men's Basketball: NU at Wisconsin

We're here at the Kohl Center with 5 minutes until game time. The 14-2 Badgers are running out onto the floor behind red flags each bearing a letter of the word "Wisconsin." The 6-8 Wildcats meekly trotted out onto the court just before them, possibly hoping no one would realize they're here. After finding his range in a big way against Chicago State on Wednesday, junior guard Craig Moore is clanking his warmup 3s. Don't know what that means, but it could be something.

Food for thought: Wisconsin is 101-6 at home in coach Bo Ryan's seven years at the helm.

Food for uneasy digestion: NU is being outrebounded by 12 boards oer game, and Badgers' center Brian Butch is averaging 8 per game. Yikes.

Keep with the Cats' Corner blog for some live looks into what should (could...might...very well has the possibility of being at some point in time) a closely contested game.

15:17 - First TV timeout and this is possibly the ugliest 4:43 of basketball ever...at least in this century. It's 6-5 Badgers, and with the 11 points have come 3 turnovers, a whole lot of waiting before shooting and 2 fouls from Sterling Williams. Moore hit his first 3, from about downtown Monona. Jason Okrzesik is coming in. Super sub? We'll see.

11:57 - The seeds of disaster are sown. Wisconsin finally figured out it can throw the ball from the arc, over the heads of the woefully undersized Wildcats, and into the hands of their big guys down low. Marcus Landry was just one of the beneficiaries of one of those lobs, tying the score at 8. NU isn't being run off the court, largely as a result of a verrrrrry lethargic start from the Badgers.

7:55 - More minutes pass, more potential scoring opportunities pass these teams by. Wisconsin just found Butch over top (like Landry earlier) to put the Badgers up 13-12. He also drew the second foul on Kevin Coble, who seems to have made a precipitous fall since his 34 against Michigan. He is 1 of 3 shooting (and that was a layup) and has a turnover. But he is holding his own on the boards. Butch's free throw makes it 14-12.

4:09 - NU has taken its first real punch and is still hanging in there. After falling down 18-14, Croatian sensation (sorry ... had to) Nikola Baran has made two shots in a row to tie it up again.

1:44 - Ryan commits his 3rd foul, which can mean only one thing ... Jean-Marc Melchior time. The little-used Luxembourger runs around confusedly as a teammate tries to pass it to him, leading to a turnover and a Joe Krabbenhoft jumper. Wisconsin 22, NU 18.

Halftime - ...wow. The refs are being boisterously booed by the Badger faithful because they just might have missed a foul on a desperation 3 by Flowers at the end of the half. But methinks they should be booing the team in red and white, rather than black and white. Their team, consequently ranked 17th in the nation, has matched the Cats, missed shot for missed shot and turnover for turnover. As Wisconsin senator Herb Kohl, athletic director Barry Alvarez and others congratulate the Badgers for their 10 years in the Kohl Center, Bo Ryan is probably tearing his team a new one ... in the parlance of our times.

Some numbers: Thompson leads the Cats with 7 points and 3 assists. Coble has 2 points on 1-4 shooting and looks a little off. Coach Carmody wants Jeff Ryan to get both hands on the ball on rebounds, or at least that's what he shouted at him after he picked up his third foul going over the back of Brian Butch.

Wisconsin 22, NU 20. Ugly, ugly half. 17 turnovers, 16 made shots. Eep.

15:44 - The Badgers are getting some daylight on the Cats. Wisconsin has started out the half on an 8-0 run and leads 30-20. The Cats have made two baskets in the last 8:27, spanning back to half one. And the most distressing thing is that they just seem to be running weave drills outside the 3-point line for most of their possessions. They are using allllllll of their 35 seconds and then heaving up a bad shot at the end. Every time.

11:40 - And it's almost nail-in-coffin time. After Moore and Okrzesik let a sure turnover get away (may have been a foul on Wisconsin uncalled in there somewhere), Flowers made an athletic scoop layup around Coble, frozen stiff in fear of picking up his fourth foul.

Wisconsin 37, NU 24. Someone on NU just got T'ed up. I think it's Carmody.

10:27 - Ryan fouls out after Landry gets another offensive rebound. Landry hits both free throws and the Badgers lead 40-27.

7:21 - The Cats keep trying to come back, but the Badgers always have an answer. And his name is Marcus Landry. The 6-7 forward, averaging 10.3 points per game on the year, has 17 against NU, as he just put in an easy layup down low. The score is Wisconsin 44, NU 34.

4:40 - And Moore fouls out trying to take a charge. Could a Tonjua Jones sighting be in the cards? Wisconsin 49, NU 39.

3:27 - So ends the ugliest 48 seconds of basketball in the great annals of the game. Here is a recap: Jeremy Nash barely draws iron on a 3, Thompson rebounds, misses a layup, Flowers gets his hands on it, but lands out of bounds. Coble makes a shot for himself, which rims out, and the Badgers push it up the floor. Butch misses down low, misses the follow, and the Cats recover. Thompson gets a shot from beyond the arc ... and barely draws iron. Then Trevon Hughes travels.

Wisconsin 49, NU 39.

1:10 - The Cats are showing some life again. But it's probably much too little, much too late. A Thompson layup cuts the deficit to 58-47.

53.0 - We've reached the fouling stage. That means this one is over. Wisconsin 60-47.