The men's basketball team, decimated by injuries and illness, played one of its worst games of the season in a lackluster 77-64 loss at No. 21 Wisconsin last night.

And Coach Bruce Parkhill wasn't afraid to admit it.

"I thought we played pretty poorly," Parkhill said in a radio interview after the loss. "We're really kind of hurting."

The Lions (10-9, 3-7 Big Ten) shot only 37 percent from the field, while Wisconsin (15-4, 6-4 Big Ten) made 53 percent of its shots. Penn State made only eight of 31 shots from the perimeter.

The game was never really as close as the final score indicated -- the Lions came within 10 points early in the second half before three-pointers by Tracy Webster, Michael Finley and Jalil Roberts extended the lead to 19.

Finley led the Badgers with 19 points, while big man Rashard Griffith added 15. They were two of five Badgers to score in double figures.

Griffith, who missed Wisconsin's last two games due to a lesion on his knee, poured in six-straight points midway through the first half to cap a 23-5 run and extend the Badgers' lead to 27-9.

Griffith also neutralized Lion center John Amaechi, who scored just five points in the first half. Amaechi finished with 18, but 10 came from the foul line and most came when Griffith was out of the game.

"They played their typical tough defense, and it made it difficult for us to score," Parkhill said.

Perhaps the only bright spot for the Lions was power forward Phil Williams, who pulled down 12 rebounds before fouling out.

"Phil Williams did a good job on the offensive boards," Parkhill said.

But on the perimeter, the Lions did an awful job. Forwards Rahsaan Carlton and Greg Bartram were a combined 6 for 22 from the floor, while guards Michael Jennings and Dan Earl were a combined 2 for 9. The Lions made only 4 of 17 three-point shots.

Earl, however, has been bothered by back spasms and practiced sparingly this week, and Jennings still seemed to be bothered by the effects of two knockout blows he suffered last week. Carlton, who finished with 12 points, has strep throat.

Forward Matt Gaudio dressed but sat out the entire game last night due to the flu. And his bruising power underneath was truly missed.

"We need to get some guys healed up and healthy," Parkhill said.

The Lions will get that chance this weekend, as they are off until a road game at Minnesota next Wednesday.

"Danny (Earl) -- hopefully his back will respond to some rest," the coach said.

Notes:

-- Wisconsin is now 12-0 at home, while the Lions are just 2-6 on the road.

-- The Badgers, who haven't made the NCAA Tournament since 1947, surpassed last year's victory total of 14 after just 19 games.

-- Penn State shooting guard Steve Wydman scored 11 points off the bench.