DETROIT -- The outcome had been determined and less than a minute remained in the University of Wisconsin's season, but Bo Ryan had one more move he wanted to make.

The UW men's basketball coach made sure his four seniors -- Brian Butch, Michael Flowers, Greg Stiemsma and Tanner Bronson -- spent some final seconds on the floor together.

It was a gesture that didn't have to be made, but it spoke volumes about Ryan's feelings for this UW team and, especially, its seniors. The team that set a school record with 31 wins before bowing out of the NCAA tournament with a Sweet 16 loss to upstart Davidson Friday night touched the coach a little more than his previous UW teams did.

Ryan is an emotional person, though usually only behind closed doors. His players have seen him tear up on occasion in the locker room, but in recent weeks Ryan's voice cracked a time or two as he publicly discussed his seniors, their acceptance of his coaching philosophy and their closeness on and off the floor.

Nothing against Ryan's first six teams at UW, but this was the team that developed the family atmosphere he wants. This was the team that played with the unselfishness he wants. This was the team that embraced the defensive approach he wants. This was the team that played with the mental toughness he wants. This was the group that overcame modest expectations to have the consistent success he wants.

Though that season ended prematurely in the Badgers' minds, let it be said that this also was the group that took UW basketball to another level. It set a standard for the program that players must strive to match from here on out.

That standard has nothing to do with victories or trophies or success in the NCAA tournament. Instead, it has to do with how the players prepare for and play each and every game.

"Those four seniors brought a lot to this program and Coach knows that," sophomore guard Jason Bohannon said. "He recruited them and they gave their hearts and souls to this program. They brought so much. They tried to make us one of the elite programs. They did a tremendous job of taking us to that next level. The rest of us coming back are going to try to sustain that."

It won't be easy. Yes, UW went 61-11 the last two years and these Badgers won Big Ten Conference regular-season and tournament titles in the same year for the first time. But the hardest part will be living up to the day-to-day example set by Butch, Flowers, Stiemsma and Bronson.

Butch was a McDonald's all-American who never once showed the inflated sense of entitlement such players usually bring to campus. Flowers was a winner, one of those rare players who did whatever it took to get his team a victory. Stiemsma didn't play as much as he should have, but he didn 't let that bother him and ended up playing his best basketball the last two months. Bronson was a coach-in-training who had a larger locker-room and practice-floor presence that most walk-ons ever have.

Because all four seniors kept right on improving and were totally engaged as the season wound to a close, Ryan clearly developed a special affection for this team.

"This group has done more (than any other) in terms of what he's asked; I think that's been the biggest thing," assistant coach Greg Gard said. "They have met every single expectation that he's laid out in front of them. ... They've overcome a lot of odds and a lot of speculation that they weren't going to be this good. I think when he sees kids like this buy in and just totally believe and jump on, he's (affected).

"The other thing is how he sees these guys interact with each other. They all have each other's back. There's no individualism with this group. For the true coach's coach, and he's been at this for a long time, those things really hit home with him."

Though this wasn't the most talented UW team Ryan has had, especially offensively, it might have been the best. Its lack of depth and inability to defend the 3-point shot hurt it in the tournament for the second consecutive year, but this group took Ryan to places he's never been at UW.

More than anything, the departing seniors set a new tone for the program. Now it's up to the current and future Badgers to live up to it.