Bo Ryan's ballclub has never defeated a top four-seed in the NCAA tournament.
Wisconsin played to a level higher than K2, making 14 3-pointers, including a stretch of six in a row in the second half, yet still fell short to the top-seeded Syracuse Orange 64-63 Thursday night.
Credit Ryan and his players for bringing their best to Boston in a tough Sweet 16 matchup.
Nonetheless, the result highlights yet again the Achilles heel of Badger basketball: the team cannot defeat the league's elite, unless just about everything goes in its favor.
Sometimes, like Thursday night, even near perfection isn't enough.
Certainly the long-ball was working for Wisconsin in the game, but akin to underperforming Duke teams of recent past (with the exception of 2010), becoming too reliant on it can be lethal.
Statistics show the father a player is from the basket, the greater the odds are of a miss.
Syracuse weathered Wisconsin's thunderstorm by continuing to drive the basket and creating open looks off the dribble.
The Badgers kept hucking them up from beyond the arc.
Bucky still had an opportunity to win following a missed one-and-one by Syracuse. Senior Jordan Taylor, however, settled for a off-balance deep 3 that barely grazed iron.
Ben Brust tracked down the loose ball and launched a rainbow from the baseline that sailed wide just before the buzzer sounded.
The Orange advance to the Elite Eight to play the winner of Cincinnati and Ohio State.
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