MADISON, Wis. - Thursday night was rough for the Wisconsin Badgers, to say the least. Playing on the road against Michigan State, the Badgers just couldn't get anything going in a 69-55 loss to the Spartans. The Badgers looked sluggish for most of the night, and had dug too deep of a hole for them to fully escape in the second half.
But while there weren't many moral victories in the loss, there was a silver lining for the Badgers to grab a hold of: they didn't have time to dwell on the loss. Sophomore guard Josh Gasser spoke after practice Friday about the short layoff between games, and how it will help the Badgers move on.
"Obviously we're disappointed," Gasser said. "Not just with the result, but (with) the way we played. But at this point in time we're all about moving on to the next one.
"You've got to move on fast when you've got a quick turn around like this. It's good, instead of having a couple days to sit around and think about the loss."
Senior point guard Jordan Taylor had 13 points on the night, and was also disappointed in missing out on an opportunity to keep pace in the Big Ten race.
"There's nothing you can do about Michigan State now," Taylor said. "It's a missed opportunity. But now we've got to go on to Penn State.
"(But) it's fun to be able to not have to dwell on that for a week. We get two days of practice here, and then (we're) right back on Sunday."
Junior forward Jared Berggren, who received several stitches in his chin after Draymond Green hit Berggren in the face Thursday night, also thought the quick turnaround would help the team move on from a tough loss.
"I think it's the best thing for us," Berggren said. "Last night was very disappointing. No one was happy with the way we played, but it is good that we have just two days in between here to get ready for Penn State. We've got to turn the page right away. We've just got to learn from mistakes, and try to get better."
Moving on quickly will be a necessity for the Badgers, who still have five Big Ten games left before they move into tournament season in March. Plus, they can't afford to have a hangover against the Nittany Lions, who have given the Badgers a fight in the past despite their middling conference record. The Lions led the Badgers 23-17 at halftime when they played in State College on Jan. 31, so they know what the Lions bring to the table.
"They play really hard, they play really aggressive ... so we know they're going to come in here and give us their best shot," Gasser said.
But even with the loss, the Badgers don't think all hope is lost for a Big Ten championship. They still have a game remaining against first-place Ohio State, which means they still have a shot if they take care of business in the next few days.
"We're still in this," Gasser said. "If we win our games and take care of our business, who knows what could happen?"