Most teams that are 3-6 sound defeated. Most teams have started to point fingers and pack bags and suit up for next year. The Badgers are not most teams.
In just nine games this season, the Badgers have been on a roller coaster that many teams don't ride in an entire season.
From giving up a 20-point lead against Georgia Tech to fighting back from a 14-point deficit against a tough Temple team only to leave with a double-overtime loss, Wisconsin has had its share of heartaches.
The thing most seem to miss, however, is that for a team so young and inexperienced, the Badgers are showing an unusual amount of bite.
Winter break will test the team's endurance as Wisconsin squares off against some tough opponents, most notably Big Ten and National Championship favorites Iowa and Illinois just after the new year. The road ahead presents quite a challenge, but one that the team would like to let the fans know can be handled.
\A lot of us have had to grow up in a hurry, you have to grow up and be a man real quickly in college basketball,"" sophomore guard Freddie Owens said. ""No one waits and dwells on the fact that you're a freshman or a sophomore.""
It has been nothing but growing pains so far for the Badgers, but with each close loss or lost ball, a lesson is learned.
""Coach kinda refers to it as, 'You put out one burning bush and another one flares up somewhere,'"" junior guard Kirk Penney said. ""We're just trying to put out the bushes.""
A chance at a successful season rides on the shoulders on the youth. Freshman guard Devin Harris and Owens lead the team in points scored.
Penney, for one, likes the attitude of the young players.
""We know they'll never give up, and we know they're gonna give it their all, and that's so encouraging,"" Penney said. ""Giving up is not an option. We're just gonna have to stick it out and make sure we get the job done in the future.""
Winter break might weaken a young team, but Owens remains optimistic.
""It might help us,"" Owens said. ""As far as school goes, we won't have to worry about that, we get more rest and might sharpen our skills. We have to come with it in the Big Ten [opener]. We had a tough schedule but the Big Ten's going to be even harder.""
Penney said he likes the adversity presented to the team early.
""It's a challenge to go straight out there and play against the best,"" Penney said. ""I hope in a month you guys can come back and have a team that's official and a successful team to support. We'll be doing our best during the break.""
In practice and in games there still remains a sense of toughness, of a relentlessness and a need to prove that this team is official.
""I'm still excited, no way we're giving up still working as hard as we have since day one,"" Penney said.
So while students are unwrapping gifts and resting up for a new semester, remember the Badgers and be prepared to come back in January to a new team.
