The Wisconsin Badgers have dropped a tough away game against the Indiana Hoosiers in Bloomington after forcing an overtime period.
After entering the game as winners of their last two contests, Wisconsin struggled to stop the Hoosiers from scoring inside. A 36-point first-half was good enough to put Indiana ahead entering the break before the Badgers battled back in the second-half, scoring 42 points while unleashing an assault of three-point field goals.
Wisconsin led late in the second-half of play before a late foul called on guard Andrew Rohde allowed Lamar Wilkerson to tie the game at 72. The Badgers were able to muster up another lead in overtime when a controversial foul call on John Blackwell gave the Hoosiers a chance to win the contest at the foul line. Blackwell had been moving backwards while defending a driving Wilkerson, who did not miss when the game was on the line for a second time.
Wisconsin Badgers Lose 78-77 at the Foul Line Against Indiana Hoosiers
After previously losing four-straight games in a row against Big Ten Conference opponents, Indiana has now won four of the last five games. The Hoosiers are back to averaging 81 points per game during the current stretch with two victories separated by just a point (UCLA, 98-97).
Indiana hit the road to face UCLA and USC before returning to host Wisconsin and what had been billed as a difficult conference game. The contest certainly proved to be trying for both teams, but the Hoosiers were able to take advantage of late fouls called on the Badgers that ultimately proved to be game-winning buckets.
Lamar Wilkerson led in scoring for Indiana with 25 points, four rebounds, and four assists while shooting 40% (12.5% from three-point range). Wilkerson went a perfect 8-for-8 from the foul line including four attempts that put the Hoosiers in the lead twice. Despite the controversy surrounding the foul call, Wilkerson still nailed the shots needed to sink Wisconsin in a valuable away game.
Tucker DeVries and Sam Alexis combined for 35 points, 15 rebounds, and two assists as the Badgers could not find a way to handle the forwards. Alexis missed just one shot from the field while recording five blocks on defense in his best game of the season by far. Conor Enright scored 11 points for the Hoosiers which is just the third time this season the guard has broken double-digits. Enright averages 4.6 points per game this season but managed to find a way to the basket consistently against Wisconsin.
For the Badgers, Nolan Winter led the way offensively with 26 points, 12 rebounds, and two blocks. Winter was a force but his individual performance was unfortunately not enough as Wisconsin fell short in the third period of play. The forward has a history of putting together strong performances in what become losses this season, dropping double-double games against Purdue, Villanova, and BYU prior to the loss to Indiana.
Aside from the notable late foul, Blackwell added 18 points, six rebounds, and three assists to the Badgers’ offensive effort. Aleksas Bieliauskas did not record a basket during the loss which is the sixth time this season the forward has done so. Bieliauskas played just 14 minutes for Wisconsin as Jack Janicki and Braeden Carrington saw extra minutes.
Up next for Wisconsin is a very difficult challenge away from home against the #5 Illinois Fighting Illini. Illinois has one three-point conference loss to Nebraska this season and currently are vying for a potential top spot in the Big Ten Conference standings.
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