Indiana played a hard-fought game against No. 8 Wisconsin, but ultimately ran out of energy, losing 80-73.
The first half was full of runs for both teams. Sloppy starts for both teams transitioned into Indiana taking an 11-9 lead at the 12-minute mark. Wisconsin responded by going on a 16-4 run over the next few minutes. The Hoosiers really struggled to find good shots and had both Race Thompson and Jerome Hunter in foul trouble early.
Indiana was in a deep hole, but Anthony Leal helped dig them out. The freshman hit two threes, including one on the move as the shot clock expired. He finished the game with nine points and a team-high +5 plus/minus rating. Leal’s shot-making and solid defensive performance provided the Hoosiers with some much-needed energy.
That energy and momentum put Indiana in a position to compete for the rest of the game. They played stifling defense the entire game, especially in the second half.
A turning point in this game came just under the 10-minute mark of the second half when Indiana began a 12-2 run which started with a thunderous Trayce Jackson-Davis dunk. The Hoosiers showed tremendous emotion and energy and began doing whatever they wanted to Wisconsin. He would finish with 23 points and 12 rebounds.
The Badgers recovered and managed to keep it close all the way down to the very end of the game. It was tied and Indiana had the ball with 15 seconds to go, but Trayce Jackson-Davis missed a good look to win the game, sending it to overtime.
The offense continued in overtime as the teams traded baskets and changed leads the entire time. The Hoosiers had a chance to win the game as time expired, but Al Durham got tied up with Brad Davison and possession went to Wisconsin with just over one second to go. Davison barely missed a halfcourt heave to win the game, which sent the game to double-overtime.
The Hoosiers appeared to have lost their energy in the second overtime of the night. They were late on rotations and slow getting back in transition, ultimately resulting in two Tyler Wahl threes to give Wisconsin an insurmountable lead. Jackson-Davis, Durham, and Rob Phinisee all played just shy of 50 minutes.
Wisconsin had a very balanced scoring attack in this game, but D’Mitrik Trice took over down the stretch, leading the Badgers with 21 points and seven assists. Wisconsin shot 20 free throws and made 16 of them. Indiana shot just 8 foul shots the whole game.
It was a hard loss, but there were still encouraging moments for Indiana in this game. The Hoosiers are forming a strong identity as a second-half team. Another dismal offensive performance in the first half was followed by a tremendous final 20 minutes of basketball. The Hoosiers had 24 points on 10-of-25 shooting at halftime and finished the second half with 37 points on 66.7 percent shooting.
Al Durham had 15 points and five assists. Jerome Hunter added 12 points.
Anthony Leal and Jerome Hunter have both likely earned themselves more playing time after they both had great performances. The Hoosiers will need more help from both of them Sunday when this tired team takes on Nebraska.
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