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.

The Badgers committed fewer turnovers than any team in the country this season. So it's surprising that their season ended mostly because they couldn't control the ball early.

Wisconsin (25-9) averaged 7.4 turnovers per game coming in but had eight in the first half and 11 in all against Butler. The 15 points that the Bulldogs scored off those mishaps before the break separated them early.

After establishing an 8-5 lead five minutes in, the Badgers never led again. Butler led 33-24 at halftime and extended its advantage to 13 points less than a minute into the second half.

"We just made plays that were uncharacteristic of us, tried to force some things," Leuer said.

The Badgers didn't lose to just any midmajor team, of course. Butler, last year's national runner-up to Duke, is making its second consecutive trip to the Elite Eight because of its experience and talent.

Shawn Vanzant was a pest to the Badgers in the first half, finishing with 10 points, four assists and two steals. Matt Howard scored a team-high 20 for the Bulldogs.

More than anything, the Badgers seemed flustered by Butler's energy and physicality.

The Bulldogs didn't look like a national championship contender when they lost four of five in January. But Brad Stevens' team improved to 8-1 in the past two NCAA tournaments -- a team that continues to overachieve in what is proving to be another magical season.

"I don't know necessarily if I'm shocked by it because I know what this team is capable of with the type of guys that we have when we buy into coach's game plan and we execute it," Howard said.