NEW ORLEANS - Jordan Taylor and Jon Leuer answered questions through sniffles and cracked voices. They dropped their heads when they wiped their tears, so observers wouldn't see their red, watery eyes.
The Twin Cities duo carried the Badgers this season with All-Big Ten performances. But they were unusually inefficient during Wisconsin's 61-54 loss to Butler on Thursday night in the Sweet 16.
"It's always tough when it ends. You've got to put the balls away and uniforms and practice gear," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. "But I'm really proud of these guys."
Taylor, a former Benilde-St. Margaret's star, scored 22 points but he hit only six of 19 shots. The junior point guard has the country's best assist-to-turnover ratio and makes 85 percent of his free throws. But Thursday, he committed four turnovers, recorded only two assists and went 7-for-12 from the foul line.
Leuer, the former Orono forward who averaged 20.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in Wisconsin's two previous NCAA tournament victories, scored three points on 1-for-12 shooting against Butler in his final college game.
Wisconsin connected on 30.4 percent of its attempts from the floor. Held to 24 points in the first half, the Badgers didn't score after the break until former Henry Sibley standout Mike Bruesewitz, the Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year in 2009, collected on a three-point play with 14 minutes to go.
"It was just kind of one of those nights," Taylor said. "The ball wasn't going through the hoop. It's frustrating, especially when you end your season like that."
The Badgers did launch a late rally; down by as much as 20 points in the second half, they cut Butler's lead to 53-49 with 1 minute, 35 seconds on Taylor's three-pointer, but Shelvin Mack knocked down a jumper at the other end, and that was enough for the Bulldogs (26-9) to clinch their 12th victory in a row.
