MADISON, Wis. — A sparkle in Bo Ryan's eye and a wry smile told the story of a coach proud of the effort and hard work his team had exerted for 40 minutes in the most meaningful of conference games Thursday night.
Ryan was outwardly happy, and for a man who often has been defined by his surliness at Wisconsin, it signified the importance of this victory. In a matchup of two Top 25 teams, Ryan had watched with satisfaction as No. 25 Wisconsin came from behind and staved off No. 16 Indiana 57-50 at the Kohl Center.
The Badgers played with a scrappiness and determination that's become typical during Ryan's 11 seasons in charge. And they did enough to defeat his old nemesis, Tom Crean, who previously coached across the state at Marquette, in front of a sellout crowd of 17,230 fans.
But afterward, Ryan wasn't willing to revel in a victory. Not publicly, anyway. Not with only half the Big Ten season in the books.
"All I'm thinking about now is to go over this game when I get home, take some notes," Ryan said. "Look at Penn State stuff tomorrow and get ready for Penn State."
Ryan is a forward thinker, and perhaps that's part of the reason for his vast success as a coach. He worked his way up from Division III UW-Platteville, parlaying his triumphs there into a job at Division I Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In his first 10 years at Wisconsin, the Badgers never finished any worse than fourth place in the Big Ten, in part because he avoided the emotional roller coaster of a long season and continually kept players focused on the next game.
This season, even as Wisconsin sunk to 1-3 early in Big Ten play, Ryan sidestepped the panic emanating from Badgers fans and preached that as long as his team kept playing hard, good things would happen.
His players listened, and good things are happening. Again.
Thursday marked Wisconsin's fifth consecutive victory, keeping the Badgers in a familiar position: Alone in fourth place in the Big Ten at 6-3, just a half-game out of a three-way tie for first. Wisconsin also is free and clear of fifth-place Illinois (4-3), a team the Badgers have already beaten.
"I think we just had to keep believing that we had a good team," Badgers center Jared Berggren said. "We knew that despite the struggles at the start of the Big Ten, we knew what we had here. We knew we had guys that weren't going to give up easy. We had to turn things around and scratch and claw our way back into things, and now we're right in the thick of things in the Big Ten race."
It is a feat Ryan, not surprisingly, hasn't spent a second contemplating.
"Other people can be the judges of our guys," Ryan said. "Our players have played hard. Our players have bought in. ... This team has a lot of fight in it. As long as they're doing that and playing hard, you can always remind me later of what the standings are."
Here is a reminder for everyone else: Ryan's .711 winning percentage (126-51) in conference games is the best mark of any Big Ten coach in history, surpassing Ohio State's Thad Matta (90-37, .709) and former Indiana coach Bob Knight (353-151, .700).
During Ryan's tenure, Wisconsin has won the Big Ten three times and placed second twice.
The Badgers (17-5) don't pile up the points, but they often rank among the top teams nationally in scoring defense. This season, they rank No. 1, allowing just 49.6 points per game.
"They're going to play at a snail's pace," Crean said. "That's what they do, and you've got to steal possessions."
On Thursday, the Hoosiers (16-5, 4-5) couldn't steal enough of them. Despite leading 34-29 on a Jordan Hulls layup midway through the second half, the Badgers clawed back and took the lead for good 48-46 on two Mike Bruesewitz free throws with 5:21 remaining. Indiana scored all of four points the rest of the game and was held 29.8 points below its season average.
"I think it starts with defense," Badgers forward Ryan Evans said. "That speaks for itself. We are able to hold down on a bad shooting night and find other ways to win a game. That's really a momentum builder. That's why we've been successful."
The Badgers aren't likely to savor their success for long. Penn State is next on Wisconsin's schedule, and that's where Ryan intends on keeping his players' focus. The glint in his eyes and the smile on his face will quickly fade from view.
"Every game is huge in the Big Ten," Berggren said. "Hopefully we can keep things rolling."
If the first decade of Ryan's tenure is any indication, following through on that declaration shouldn't be a problem.
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