Fittingly, the halftime act was Quick Change, a couple that altered its appearance several times during a short dancing performance on the Bryce Jordan Center floor.

Penn State, which played an inspired brand of basketball in the first half of Saturday's 82-62 loss to Wisconsin, came out for the second half with its low-energy, low-intensity alter ego.

Like in Wednesday's game against Minnesota, the Nittany Lions were blown out in the second half and looked like they had been awoken prematurely from a halftime nap.

After trailing 36-34 at the break, the Badgers missed only a dozen shots in the second period, and even then they were able to secure the offensive rebound on six of those 12 occasions.

"We didn't play defense, we didn't come out with any energy as a team," sophomore Geary Claxton said.

It gets worse.

Wisconsin, limited to 13-of-35 shooting in the first, sank over 62 percent of its field goals in the second half, including 28 points in the paint.

A hand that was in the face of a shooter in the first half was conspicuously absent later on.

The same thing happened last time out, when Minnesota shot over 57 percent for 52 points in the second.

Over their last four losses the Lions are plus-seven in scoring in the first half, but minus-53 in the second.

Things were just as bleak on offense as they were on defense.

The Lions shot less than 30 percent in the second half Saturday, and, though they had ample opportunity, secured just one offensive board.

No Penn State player better demonstrates the team's poor second-half performance than Jamelle Cornley has the past two games.

Over the last week Cornley's combined second-half performances read as follows: 0-of-7 from the field, one point and two rebounds in 25 minutes of action.

In the opening periods of those games, Cornley shot 9-of-12 for a combined 23 points.

"I'm still trying to figure out what happened," Cornley said.

Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan explained that there was no halftime strategy adjustment meant to neutralize the Penn State forward.

"We tried to give some hints on the angles and where to meet the post players and how to beat them to spots," Ryan said. "We didn't change any of our post defense theory -- our guys executed better."

So what, exactly, is the problem?

Perhaps the Lions, with their seven-man rotation, are just tired.

"Sometimes it does catch up with us, fatigue starts to set in ... your legs start to get to you," Cornley said, adding that the Lions couldn't find anything to spark them into action.

Such was not the case on Feb. 3, however, when the Lions mounted a 16-point second half comeback to topple then-No. 6 Illinois.

Ryan pointed out that although a team may look pumped and ready to play -- as the Lions did when running onto the court and slapping hands with courtside fans after halftime -- it's all about channeling that energy.

"There's a lot of false energy in sports sometimes," Ryan said. "You see guys get all fired up, slapping fives and bumping chests, doing all that, but the game hasn't started yet. That energy can be used somewhere else."

In Penn State's case, that energy could have been used to play more active defense along the baseline or to step out and contest perimeter shots from Wisconsin guard Kammron Taylor.

Perhaps the Lions should be mindful of Ryan's second-half philosophy, which he voiced after explaining his lack of adjustments in the locker room.

"It's always 0-0 at halftime, by the way," he said.