Against the Badgers and a lot of history
Indiana heads to Madison Tuesday night to take on a ranked Badgers squad fresh off a tough win in Evanston.
Going 0-2 last week has put the Hoosiers firmly on the wrong side of the Bubble for most bracketologists, but the matchup with Wisconsin will be another opportunity for Mike Woodson to get a Quad 1 win and improve the team’s resume.
At 5-6 in Big Ten play, Indiana also needs the win to secure its spot in the Big Ten Tournament, which could be the only shot at a postseason berth if the regular season doesn’t turn around quickly.
Here are three things to know about the game:
Losing Streaks
Indiana heads to Wisconsin in the midst of two different losing streaks. Obviously the Hoosiers have now dropped three straight, but Indiana has also lost its last 20 games in the Kohl Center, dating back to 1998.
However bad the vibes may feel surrounding these two simultaneous skids, winning at Wisconsin would instantly be the most impressive piece on Indiana’s NCAA resume AND a historic win that hearkens back to the Knight era.
Indiana might be past the point that a single win could save the season, but this is the kind of win that could inspire confidence and get Indiana out of its current slump, permanently.
Elite Badger Offense
Wisconsin has the seventh most efficient offense in the country per Kenpom, holding top five spots in two categories – opponent steal rate and free throw percentage.
Indiana’s defense already has one of the worst steal rates in the country, so pressuring the Badgers and forcing turnovers should not be part of the game plan anyway. On the other hand, Indiana will have to be extra careful to avoid fouling Wisconsin, a team that will make them pay at the charity stripe.
Unlike prior Greg Gard teams, this Wisconsin team takes a lot of 3-pointers. They come into the matchup 20th nationally in 3PA/FGA and are hitting 37% of those attempts. Even Steven Crowl, the 7 foot Badger center, has 37 3-point attempts on the year.
The fact that Wisconsin has so many willing and able shooters – none of their top nine rotation players have fewer than 28 attempts – should make Woodson consider extended runs of smaller lineups to defend the perimeter.
Wisconsin’s Record
Wisconsin has stayed in the AP Polls despite five losses this season because they’ve lost close games to good teams. Out of their five losses, the lowest ranked opponent in the NET rankings was the no. 28 UCLA Bruins, who only beat the Badgers by two points.
Of Wisconsin’s four losses, only one came by more than ten points – a 14 point road loss to a Marquette team that’s looked like one of the best in the country at points this season. The Badgers were able to keep it close against two ranked teams, Illinois and Maryland, also in road games.
Even if the Hoosiers can get out to an early lead or retake the lead late, as they did against Purdue, the Badgers are unlikely to roll over. Indiana will have to play a full forty minutes – something it has yet to do so far this season.