Indiana faced its first road test of the season and struggled to compete in a brutal 84-64 loss to Wisconsin. On of the biggest facilitators to the Badgers' scoring was the efficiency and versatility of its forwards. Nate Neuvers and Aleem Ford combined for five converted three-point attempts as they stretched the Hoosiers' big men toward the perimeter.
In its first road game of the season, Wisconsin knocked Indiana into a hole it couldn’t climb out of. The strength of the Hoosiers’ offense — scoring in transition — couldn’t match the Badgers’ methodical passing and efficient scoring ability.
Wisconsin, losers of three straight games, relished a clean slate that was awarded in its first conference matchup of the year. Both teams entered the game 0-0 in the Big Ten.
Indiana’s opposition came firing on all cylinders to start the game. The Badgers jumped out to a huge, 19-4 lead thanks to three early 3-pointers and an explosive 14-point scoring run in the first seven minutes of the game.
“They hadn’t been home in a while and coming off a few tough ones, we knew we were going to deal with a sharp group that was ready, and they were,” Indiana head coach Archie Miller said of Wisconsin. “Very sharp offensively. We didn’t have a whole lot of resistance. Them being able to get off to a good start shooting the ball probably alleviated a little bit of pressure off of their back.”
The biggest facilitator of the shooting onslaught was Wisconsin junior forward Nate Reuvers, who was up against arguably the biggest strength of Indiana’s team in the backcourt. His effort, paired with three converted 3-pointers from forward Aleem Ford before getting into foul trouble, created matchups that the Hoosiers hadn’t yet seen this season.
What separated Reuvers and Ford from other big men on the team’s schedule was their ability to shoot from anywhere on the court. Reuvers’ particular skill set stretched redshirt junior Joey Brunk to the perimeter, allowing numerous Badger guards to make elusive cuts to the basket.
The Hoosiers were unable to adjust early, often scrambling to get a hand in the face of their opponents. Neuvers took advantage of the space and converted two of his three attempts from deep within the first half of the game.
“When you play against a team like Wisconsin, they’re very hard to speed up. They did a great job of cutting, and screening, and moving, and working the possession. You’re going to deal with long possessions when you deal with Wisconsin. You’re not just going to pressure the ball for a couple minutes and get some good stuff. You’re going to have to work and work at it and keep grinding and get into a rhythm on defense like you do on offense.”
On offense, it didn’t get much better for Brunk or any of the Indiana forwards. The Butler transfer finished the game with just two points, easily his lowest of the season. In four minutes of relief of Brunk, senior forward De’Ron Davis couldn’t but a ball in the basket despite attempting four shots from the free-throw line. To make matters worse, he air-balled one of his attempts.
Freshman forward Trayce Jackson-Davis has been a bright spot underneath the basket and came into the game nearly averaging a double-double. In a new atmosphere, the first road experience of his collegiate career, he accounted for just nine points and three points.
One of three Hoosiers to reach double figures was junior forward Justin Smith, the only forward to do so. He hit 10 points to go along with two rebounds of his own. He and Jackson-Davis had been able to take over games with their rebounding ability early in the season but were essentially a non-factor on the glass against the Badgers.
“I feel like we rebounded particularly well, we just gotta be better. Be better on the boards, bring better effort on the boards and we gotta box out. We gotta emphasize it in practice.”
This season, Indiana’s rebounding ability had been one of the biggest aspects of its undefeated start to the season. Against Wisconsin, however, the team lost that battle for the first time all season. The Badgers notched 29 rebounds, one more than the Hoosiers.
The Hoosiers will have to determine and fix their defensive struggles before attempting to rebound against Connecticut when they travel to New York.
“This team has shown the ability through the course of our early part of the year to really be coachable and to really be team-oriented. And I don’t think that’s that’ll change, I’m not going to look at this game and say ‘boy, you know, first road game.’ Well, we’ve got another one on Tuesday and it’s going to be a great stage.”
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