Over an hour prior to the Wisconsin Badgers tipping off on the road against No. 2 Maryland, the Terrapins' student section assembled to prepare a flash mob to be executed during a first-half media timeout.
By the time the Badgers had danced their way to a commanding lead with two minutes remaining in the game, those same Maryland fans were partaking in another communal act of movement: dispersing toward the exits.
Vitto Brown scored a career-high 21 points and Bronson Koenig added 16 points as the Badgers padded their NCAA tournament résumé and handed the Terrapins their first Big Ten loss at home since joining the conference last season, 70-57.
Wisconsin frustrated the talented Maryland offense throughout the evening on defense and relied on timely three-point shooting to extend its winning streak to seven consecutive games.
Twelve of the Badgers' 23 field goals came from three-point range, marking their third consecutive game finishing with double-digit triples. Meanwhile, Maryland point guard and Wooden Award candidate Melo Trimble missed 13 of 14 shots as the Terrapins shot only 40 percent from the field with only five made three-pointers.
Nigel Hayes buried four of his five three-point attempts, scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Zak Showalter contributed 11 points.
Trailing 14-7 after a Rasheed Sulaimon three with 13:32 remaining in the first half, the Badgers caught fire. Maryland committed seven turnovers over a 17-0 Wisconsin run that silenced a rowdy Xfinity Center crowd.
The Badgers pulled out to a 16-point lead at 35-19 lead on a Khalil Iverson dunk and entered the half with a 36-21 lead.
In the final seconds of the first half, it appeared that Terrapins center Diamond Stone would be ejected after he appeared to intentionally slam Brown's head into the floor after battling for a rebound. The result, however, was a mere flagrant 1 foul on Stone and a dead ball technical foul Charlie Thomas, who confronted Stone after the altercation.
Awful. pic.twitter.com/odpIsCylft
— Big Ten Geeks (@bigtengeeks) February 14, 2016
Later in the game, Stone cut the Wisconsin lead to six points on a dunk with 10:48 left in the second half. The Terrapins, however, would not draw any closer.
Koenig buried a three-pointer and another jumper to pace a 8-0 run that put Wisconsin up 53-41. Once Stone knocked down a shot to pull within eight, Showalter buried his second three of the night after two offensive rebounds kept the Badgers' possession alive.
When Brown stepped to the line to shoot two free throws that would extend the lead to 63-48, the arena was silent and the fans were headed to the parking lots.
A true statement, indeed.