Led by Jordan Taylor and Jared Berggren, the #16 Wisconsin Badgers beat the #8 Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus on Sunday. The win marked the Badgers' first Big Ten road victory against a top-ten team since 1980, when Wisconsin took down the 4th ranked Buckeyes (a team Bo Ryan was an assistant for).
The Badgers, coming off a terrible loss to Iowa on Thursday, opened the game strong and stuck with the high-powered Buckeyes. By halftime the teams were knotted at 29 all.
The Buckeyes managed an eight point lead with around ten minutes to play, but the Badgers came back, closing the gap to one point with less than a minute remaining.
Jared Berggren took it from there, hitting a huge three-pointer to put the Badgers on top by two.
"We always -- if we have an open look -- we have to be aggressive," said Berggren. "They're a good defensive team so you know open looks can be hard to come by. So when we get an opportunity like that, you have to step up with confidence. Jordan found me on the wing and I had a little space. I just stepped up and knocked it down."
After a Buckeye miss, Berggren grabbed a rebound and was fouled, and hit both free throws, putting the Badgers up by four.
Ohio State point guard Aaron Craft hit a free throw with a few seconds remaining to close out the game's scoring, and Wisconsin walked out of Columbus with a 63-60 victory.
"It's awesome, especially late in the season," Said Jordan Taylor. "We came off a tough loss against Iowa and to be able to come into an environment like this against a great team, it's really big for us."
Rob Wilson nailed 3 triples to total 9 points, and Josh Gasser closed out the Badger scoring, adding 7 points of his own.
Wisconsin (21-8, 10-6) now sits in 4th place in the Big Ten, a half game behind Ohio State and Michigan who are tied for second.
The Badgers play Minnesota on Tuesday and Illinois on Sunday to close out the regular season. Both games are at the Kohl Center.
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