Why did Greg Gard wear a blonde wig to celebrate Wisconsin’s win?

“The hair goes home sad. The Badgers go home happy.”

That was the message posted to the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball X account, along with a video showing coach Greg Gard donning a blonde wig as he ran into the postgame locker room Feb. 10.

The celebration came moments after UW upset No. 8 Illinois, 92-90, in Champaign, Illinois.

While Gard has a history of similar locker-room entrances after big wins, you may be wondering about the wig in this one — although, if you watched the game broadcast, you saw that wig plenty of times.

Gard was stealing a bit from Illinois student fans, many of whom were adorned in blonde wigs at the game as part of a “Jake Davis Wig Giveaway.”

Davis, a junior starter who’s seen his role increase considerably in past weeks, happens to have flowing blonde locks for real. He averages 5.5 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.

Leading up the game, Illinois coach Brad Underwood was among those donning a wig to promote the night.

Illinois was missing two of its top scorers in the game, pushing Davis to a season-high 37 minutes against Wisconsin, and he finished with 11 points and five boards.

His presence on the floor gave wigged-out Illinois fans lots to cheer about during the game, but Wisconsin’s rally to win in overtime soured the mood.

(This story was updated to add a photo gallery.)