After celebrating an upset against No. 4 Purdue on Saturday, Wisconsin fans are worrying about the loss of a player who helped contribute to that victory.
Forward Jon Leuer sustained a broken left wrist during a fall early in the game and is out indefinitely. He is scheduled for surgery on Tuesday.
Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said he will approach this as he does when Leuer is on the bench with foul trouble.
"We have to go with the next guy," Ryan said. "Are we going to whine? No, that's not allowed."
Leuer played 38 minutes, scoring just four points in the 73-66 Big Ten victory at the Kohl Center, but he grabbed 10 rebounds. Despite being 6-foot-10, Leuer is a solid perimeter shooter, hitting 35.5 percent on 3-pointers. He averages 15.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
The Badgers (13-3, 3-1 Big Ten, tied for 13th in the AP rankings) are fortunate to have one of the better benches in the Big Ten, as was evidenced in the victory against Purdue.
Reserve point guard Jordan Taylor scored a career-high 23 points in place of Trevon Hughes, who was in early foul trouble.
Taylor would be the logical first choice to replace Leuer, but Ryan Evans, Rob Wilson, Mike Bruesewitz and Jared Berggren have also received valuable minutes off the bench.
What's the difference? Kansas State coach Frank Martin wanted to play a game of Find the Difference.
After losing to Missouri at the Mizzou Arena on Saturday, Martin wanted to know what the big contrast is between Villanova, a preseason pick to win the Big East, and Missouri, a preseason seventh pick in the Big 12.
Both teams returned their perimeter and four starters. Villanova advanced to the Final Four last season, Missouri to the Elite Eight.
"Why all of a sudden are they not a good team?" Martin asked of his opponent, which was unranked. "To be voted (in the bottom half) of the league, that's a slap in the face."
Of course, some would argue Villanova's talent is far richer. But in a deep Big 12, which includes last week's No. 1 Kansas and current No. 1 Texas, Missouri showed signs it can hold its own with an impressive victory against Kansas State to extend its home winning streak to 30.
"We're a team that's a work in progress," coach Mike Anderson said. "We're improving, and the strength of our team is in our guards."
Swish of the week: Tennessee playmakers, not troublemakers.
With only six scholarship players available, the Volunteers knocked off No. 1 Kansas after four players were arrested and suspended from the team. The Jayhawks are one of the deepest teams, and the Vols still showed great composure even with starters Wayne Chism and J.P. Prince on the bench with four fouls.
Brick of the week: Top 15 teams. Ten of them served up disappointment. Here's the rundown:
No. 1 Kansas lost at Tennessee 76-68, despite the Volunteers' lack of depth. No. 4 Purdue fell to Wisconsin 73-66. No. 5 Duke lost to Georgia Tech 71-67. No. 8 West Virginia was stunned by Notre Dame 70-68. No. 9 North Carolina provided the biggest shock by losing to College of Charleston 82-79 in overtime. No. 11 Kansas State failed to win - again - at Mizzou Arena 74-68. No. 12 Georgetown lost 62-59 at Marquette on Tuesday before rebounding to defeat No. 13 Connecticut at home 72-69 on Saturday. No. 14 Ole Miss was clobbered by Mississippi State 80-75. And finally, No. 15 New Mexico suffered consecutive losses to San Diego State 74-64 and UNLV 74-62.
Game of the week: Pittsburgh at Connecticut, Wednesday, 7 p.m.
There is no Big East showdown between DeJuan Blair and Hasheem Thabeet this season, but this game might be a defining moment for each team. The Panthers have won six straight and are far better than when they were picked to finish ninth in the conference. Connecticut, which was picked to finish third, is trying to recover from a 2-2 start in conference play.