John Blackwell's potential game-tying shot was blocked with 9 seconds to play and the Badgers suffered an 85-83 loss at UCLA on Tuesday night.

Aday Mara scored a career-high 22 points and UCLA held off No. 18 Wisconsin 85-83 to snap the Badgers’ seven-game winning streak.

The Badgers actually received a boost just before the UCLA loss, as Ohio State won on the road at Purdue and jumped to No. 30 in the NET. That pushed the Badgers’ recent home victory over the Buckeyes back into the Quad 1 category.

Despite dropping a nail-biter to UCLA on Tuesday, the Wisconsin Badgers rose four spots in ESPN’s updated Basketball Power Index. While the Badgers remained at No. 21 in the most recent KenPom hierarchy,

Jan 21, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Wisconsin Badgers forward Carter Gilmore (7) fights for a loose ball against UCLA Bruins guard Skyy Clark (55) and UCLA Bruins guard Kobe Johnson (0) during the first half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Specifically, UCLA shot 14-of-20 from two-point range in the second half. A bulk of the Bruins’ paint scoring arrived from the aforementioned Mara and bench guard Sebastian Mack. The Badgers had no answer. Wisconsin shot extremely well from the outside, but UCLA’s consistence presence down low was devastating on Tuesday.

The Wisconsin Badgers lost for the first time since December 10th against the UCLA Bruins 85-83 on Tuesday. The Badgers had won seven straight prior to yesterday’s loss. Wisconsin now resides at 15-4 overall and 5-3 in the Big Ten.