MADISON, Wis. â€” He has been coach at Wisconsin for a decade now. To those who believe basketball should be played at one speed â€” hyper â€” it only seems Bo Ryan has been there longer.

Donâ€™t think it doesnâ€™t bug him to hear and read the various adjectives used to describe the way the Badgers play the game: methodical, deliberate, sluggish. And, when the person in charge of the description wants to be lazy â€” or mean â€” there is the old standby: boring.

On Saturday, though, for 13 extraordinary minutes, Wisconsin scored at a 117-point-per game pace. Yes, the math on that has been double-checked. After burrowing into a 15-point deficit, the Badgers ripped off 39 points to overcome the No. 1 team in college basketball, a group of Ohio State Buckeyes so accomplished they played 24 games without a defeat.

â€œI think we were a little tentative on offense, kind of standing still,â€ said point guard Jordan Taylor, who commanded the Badgers offense to a 71-67 victory with his 27 points and seven assists. â€œThen Ryan (Evans) stepped into a tough jump shot and that was a big shot, he got the run going. I think that aggressive play just turned on a switch for the whole team and it just snowballed from there.â€

Ryan wore a bit of a smirk after all that, after the court at the Kohl Center had been justifiably stormed and the fans had reluctantly departed the arena.

â€œAll coaches talk about the one possession at a time. So I spared them that one,â€ Ryan said. â€œI said, â€˜Hereâ€™s what weâ€™ve got to do: Weâ€™ve got to get stops. No second shots. Some of those shots theyâ€™re making are going to stop going down. As thatâ€™s happening, weâ€™ve got to take care of our possessions.â€™ â€

And that is the entire point of Wisconsin basketball. It is not about playing slowly, but about playing correctly. In an ordinary game, if it takes 34 seconds to get a great shot, fine, so long as it doesnâ€™t take 36.

After Ohio State built its 47-32 lead in the first seven minutes of the second half, though, this no longer was an ordinary game. It was in danger of becoming a blowout. Wisconsin could not afford to play patiently and still expect to have the number of offensive trips necessary to mount a comeback. So Taylor turned up the juice.

He is one of those exceptional point guards who can make the game move at whatever pace he wishes, so strong is his control. Derrick Rose can do that. Chris Paul can. When heâ€™s got two good feet, certainly Dukeâ€™s Kyrie Irving fits that description. Taylor comes in a smaller package â€” listed at 6-1, perhaps generously so â€” which is why he is not one of those guys being hunted down by agentsâ€™ runners.

The game he played Saturday, though, might change a few minds.

â€œJordan Taylor, what he did there â€” if people donâ€™t take that and frame it, for a one-game performance,â€ Ryan said, not needing to finish his thought. â€œHeâ€™s a pretty good player all through the season, but what he did right there, I donâ€™t know if there are too many players in the country that have ever done. Not just this year, but at any time, against the No. 1 team in the country.

â€œAnd they earned the No. 1. Itâ€™s not early in the season. Ohio State worked their way into that spot, and theyâ€™re a very good team.â€

The Buckeyes allowed their lead to collapse because they lost patience, because they failed to recognize the value of longer possessions when protecting a two-touchdown advantage.

Wisconsinâ€™s defense throughout was superb, particularly against freshman star Jared Sullinger. His ability to dictate the game from the post was countermanded by the determined defense of Badgers senior Keaton Nankivil. One at a time, Nankivil, forward Jon Leuer and backup Jared Berggren fought to stay in front of Sullinger, and whatever weak-side defender was available cheated in behind him to discourage passes thrown over the top.

That Sullinger fought to conclude with 19 points says much about his ability, but his shot attempts â€” 12 from the field, four from the line â€” were a more accurate accounting of how he was controlled.

â€œI think you come on the road, you shoot 54 percent, you shoot 88 percent from the free throw line, you outrebound your opponents, you only have seven turnovers â€” you feel pretty good,â€ Matta said. â€œThey had to play for that stretch damn near perfect to get us, and they did.â€

The Badgers had to play fast, too.

And they did that.