Last week, every remaining No. 1 team fell to defeat, allowing the preseason first place Indiana Hoosiers to move back into second place in the college basketball rankings. That rise will be short lived as ESPN reports on Jan. 15 that the Hoosiers lost their second game of the season to the Wisconsin Badgers, 64-59.
The loss will not only drop Indiana in the polls, but it also allows Wisconsin (13-4, 4-0 Big Ten) to take sole position of first place in the Big Ten. Indiana, Michigan and Ohio State have all now lost conference games, allowing the Badgers to remain the sole undefeated conference team, although they have lost four games to non-conference opponents.
"It's huge you know," sophomore guard Traevon Jackson said. "We'll celebrate for 24 hours and then we got to get ready for Iowa. Just got to get ready for another one."
That is life in the Big Ten, and while Indiana (15-2, 3-1 Big Ten) came in with a lot of expectations, this loss might be hard to overcome, at least until March Madness commences. This is the 11th straight win over Indiana for the Badgers.
"They bait you with their drives and kicks," Indiana coach Tom Crean said. "In the second half, they made shots and some of them reminded me of the Michael Jordan-Larry Bird McDonald's commercial."
Crean has never defeated Wisconsin as head coach at Indiana.
Wisconsin next travels to Iowa on Jan. 19 while Indiana heads to Northwestern on Jan. 20.
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