Indiana basketball plays the second of two straight games on the road on Tuesday night, as the Hoosiers travel to Madison to take on No. 21 Wisconsin.
The Hoosiers (14-8 overall, 5-6 in Big Ten play) have lost three straight and five of their last six, including most recently falling on the road at No. 7 Purdue on Friday. The Badgers (17-5 overall, 7-4 in Big Ten play) are fresh off of a road win in Evanston over Northwestern by six points.
Before traveling to a place the Hoosiers haven't won since 1998, preview the midweek showdown between Indiana and Wisconsin.
HEAD COACH PROFILE
Head Coach: Greg Gard
Record: 203-112 in 10th year overall, same at Wisconsin
A finalist for National Coach of the Year in 2022, Greg Gard helped lead Wisconsin to regular season championships in 2020 and 2022. He won Big Ten Coach of the Year honors in each of those seasons as well.
During his time with the Badgers, Gard has guided the Badgers to six NCAA Tournaments. In those postseason appearances, Gard has led Wisconsin to two Sweet 16 appearances.
Gard initially took over the head coaching role with the Badgers on an interim basis halfway through the 2015-16 season. Prior to that, spent time as an assistant and associate under Bo Ryan from 2001-15. All told, Gard has spent 23 seasons with the Badgers.
THIS SEASON
Wisconsin began the season by winning its first eight games of the season, including a 15-point win over now No. 20 Arizona. However, the Badgers hit a rough patch in the beginning of December when Big Ten play began.
Wisconsin lost each of its first three games in the month of December—a three-point loss at home to No. 24 Michigan, a 14-point road loss to No. 11 Marquette and a six-point loss on the road against No. 23 Illinois.
Then, Wisconsin rediscovered its groove, winning seven straight—including five straight conference games—before falling by two points on the road against UCLA.
Since then, the Badgers have beaten Nebraska at home, lost to No. 18 Maryland on the road and beaten Northwestern away from home.
On the season, Wisconsin is averaging 81.5 points per game. The Badgers are shooting 46.5% from the field and 36.3% from 3-point range as a team. Wisconsin is averaging 15.0 assists to just 10.3 turnovers per game.
Defensively, the Badgers are allowing 70.5 points a game while shooting 41.5% from the floor and 32.6% from downtown.
Wisconsin is ranked No. 14 in KenPom, boasting the nation's seventh-ranked offense and 46th-ranked defense. In the NET, the Badgers are ranked No. 16 with a 6-5 record in Quad 1 games.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
- Guard John Tonje: The leading scorer for the Badgers, Tonje, a 6-foot-5 guard, is averaging 18.6 points per game this season. He's shooting 46.9% from the field and 41.5% from 3-point range—on 5.4 attempts a game. A sixth-year graduate student, Tonje is averaging 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists a game.
- Guard John Blackwell: A 6-foot-4 sophomore guard, Blackwell is averaging 15.5 points per game. He's shooting 47.8% from the floor and 35.1% from downtown. Backwell, who was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team a season ago, is averaging 4.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists a night.
- Forward Nolan Winter: A sophomore 7-footer, Winter is averaging 10.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. After appearing in all 36 games for the Badgers last season, Winter is shooting 59.0% from the field and 39.6% from beyond the 3-point arc—on 2.4 attempts a night.
STORYLINES TO WATCH
Is this the year Indiana finally wins at the Kohl Center...
Indiana hasn't won a game at the Kohl Center since 1998, the first year the building opened. The Hoosiers have had some chances over the past few years to break the curse against the Badgers—Indiana's Big Ten opener in December of 2021 and the double-overtime game a year prior comes to mind. However, over the last two-plus decades, the Kohl Center has been a house of horrors for the Hoosiers.
Indiana in desperate need for a win...
Indiana has lost three straight games—all by single-digits—and five of its last six games entering Tuesday night's contest. Any hopes of Mike Woodson guiding the Hoosiers back to the NCAA Tournament this season seem to be fleeting fast, but there's still hope. Indiana will have to dominate its remaining home games, as well as win a couple of games on the road. Tuesday night's clash between Indiana and Wisconsin represents a perfect opportunity for the Hoosiers to try and right the ship because it's better late than never.
Will it be another heartbreaker for the Hoosiers...
For the second time in less than a week, Indiana was less than 30 seconds from victory. Against Purdue, Indiana led with 29 seconds to play before Trey Kaufman-Renn's go-ahead bucket in the closing seconds of the game. Five days earlier, against Maryland, it was a Rodney Rice 3-pointer in the final 10 seconds that saw the Hoosiers fall to the Terrapins. Indiana's lost back-to-back games in heartbreaking fashion, collapsing in late game situations. Will it happen again in Madison?
QUICK HITTERS
Who: Indiana (14-8, 5-6) at Wisconsin (17-5, 7-4)
Series History: Indiana leads all-time series 98-91 (Last Meeting: Indiana won 74-70 on Feb. 27, 2024 in Bloomington, Indiana
When: Feb. 4, 2025 at 9:00 p.m. ET
Where: Kohl Center, Madison, Widconsin
TV: Peacock: Noah Eagle (play-by-play), Robbie Hummel (analyst)
Radio: IU Radio Network: Don Fischer (Play-by-Play), Errek Suhr (Analyst), John Herrick
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