Bo Ryan isn’t about to let some spit ruin Wisconsin’s best win of the season.
Moments after the Badgers handed Ohio State its first loss of the season Saturday, students rushed the court to celebrate with the team. Somewhere in that rush, someone spit on Buckeyes center Jared Sullinger, who tweeted his displeasure about the move.
A Wisconsin official said the athletic department is looking into the allegation. But the Badgers coach isn’t having it.
“Every area of our facility is all videotaped. There is absolutely nothing that has come to my attention,” Ryan said Monday during a reporter teleconference. “All I know is we won the game, deal with it.”
Ohio State coach Thad Matta did his best to downplay it.
“A student ran by and spit on him. Nothing too major,” Matta said Monday. “What are you going to do? Those things happen. It was a crazy environment, which was great for college basketball and for their fans, that sort of stuff. You don’t like to see that happen but you can’t do anything about it.”
As Bob Baptist from the Columbus Dispatch notes, Sullinger didn’t mention the spit after the game, but says Wisconsin fans have been noted for their “boorish behavior.”
It’s an odd thing. Sullinger’s seen as a no-frills, humble player. A lie seems out of character. Could he have mistaken spit for some other fluid? Did the video miss the spitter?
Or was it something else entirely?
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