Bo Ryan: Remarkable record

We take this for granted by now, but what Bo Ryan has done as Wisconsin's men's basketball coach has been fantastic.

Ryan brings his Badgers to Iowa City Thursday night. A win would guarantee him his 11th winning season in Big Ten play in his 11 years as UW's coach. Wisconsin is 9-5 in the conference.

It's not just 11 straight winning seasons. Ryan's teams have never finished lower than fourth in the Big Ten standings. Their conference record is 129-53. Three Big Ten titles are part of that.

That's really good.

Never has a Ryan-coached Badgers squad failed to reach the NCAA tournament. Only once in their 10 trips to the NCAAs under Ryan has Wisconsin failed to win at least one game.

That, too, is really good.

Iowa beat the Badgers in Madison on Dec. 31, 72-65. That's the most points Wisconsin has allowed in a game all season.

The Hawkeyes haven't swept a season series against Wisconsin since Ryan has been the coach. They haven't done it since 1995, actually.

If Iowa beats Wisconsin Thursday night, it will have done something. Because you have to beat the Badgers, since they seldom defeat themselves.