Losing to Wisconsin
Losing to Wisconsin cements Indiana as the No. 11 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, and the Hoosiers will need to avoid an upset Wednesday or else risk their NCAA Tournament bid.
Another scoring drought
After leading for the entire second half, Indiana surrendered the lead with 4:05 to go in the middle of a Wisconsin 12-0 run.
Indiana couldn't buy a basket in the last 10 minutes of the game. With 1:15 to go, the Hoosiers hadn't connected from the field since the 10-minute mark. In that time, Wisconsin hit on eight field goal attempts.
The run was ended by an Al Durham three to make the score 56-54 Wisconsin with less than a minute remaining.
Energy from seniors
Archie Miller gave his seniors the start Saturday for Senior Night, and Devonte Green and De'Ron Davis brought immediate energy to the floor.
Davis scored Indiana's first four points, and Green followed with the next 13. By halftime, Green had attempted 10 shots and had 16 points, while players not named Green or Davis scored just eight of Indiana's 28 points.
Davis also wrestled for a loose ball underneath Indiana's basket early in the first half, and Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall got loud in response, making the atmosphere feel as if Indiana had a commanding lead, even though it was tied 11-11.
There was a noticeable transition between the game led by Indiana's seniors and the game led by the contributors the Hoosiers need to lead productively on a game-by-game basis, and once that transition was made, the game appeared to come much easier for Indiana.
Scratching and clawing for points
The first half was a wrestling match on either end for both teams. The ball was turned over 12 times – six times by each team – and, after starting well, both teams ended the first half shooting 38 percent from the floor.
Neither team could score inside. Indiana went into halftime with six points in the paint, while Wisconsin had just two. There were no scores at all in the final 4:28 of the first half, and after a Devonte Green two-point shot with 13 minutes remaining in the half, there was only one more two-point shot made before halftime. There simultaneously six three-point shots made.
Eventually, contributors who weren't scoring in the first half, found the net in the second. Scorers like Al Durham, Race Thompson, Justin Smith and, even, Trayce Jackson-Davis.
Trayce Jackson-Davis disappearing act
Trayce Jackson-Davis hadn't recorded many unproductive games inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. His worst was Indiana's win over Ohio State, when he recorded six points and three rebounds. But Jackson-Davis was held scoreless until the 15:18 mark of the second half, which contributed largely to Indiana's struggles to score inside.
Jackson-Davis has been dealing with a large amount of pain from an ankle sprain, Miller said Friday, suffered around the time of the Purdue loss.
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