Returning to their usual offensive ways, the Badgers slumped in the second half and gave up a 27-25 halftime lead, losing to No. 4 Xavier 60-49 Sunday in Boise, Idaho.
I think I speak for all Badger fans when I applaud these guys for just getting to the second round. This was an NCAA Tournament team, but the Badgers did not have an NCAA Tournament offense. Every No. 16 seed had a more impressive offense than Wisconsin, which proved that defense can only take you so far.
It's actually very impressive that this team did what it did considering its offensive abilities (or lack thereof). But more so than anything, it made me realize how impressive last year's 30-win, Sweet 16 team really was. The offense was better with Michael Flowers and Brian Butch, but it wasn't that much better. Certainly not 11-wins better.
But that brings up an ongoing concern that isn't going away: Who is going to be Wisconsin's top offensive weapon?
It's been two years now since Alando Tucker left. Remember those days? We used to complain about how Wisconsin didn't have a No. 3 scorer to complement Tucker and Kammron Taylor. And before Tucker, Bo Ryan had Devin Harris. But now it looks like the Badgers are headed toward their third straight season without a go-to scorer.
Will Jon Leuer blossom into a star? What about Keaton Nankivil? Is there a young guy who sat out this season we don't know about? What about incoming freshmen Mike Bruesewitz and Diamond Taylor?
You guys can debate. We will open the off-season later this week by looking ahead to next season. And then it's time to dive into spring football, which begins Tuesday.