INDIANAPOLIS—Rob Wilson’s Wisconsin career hasn’t exactly been the stuff of legend. While the senior guard came to Madison as a highly touted recruit, his four years in a Badger uniform had not exactly lived up to expectations.
On Friday afternoon, Wilson made up for lost time.
The Cleveland, Ohio native got things started when he nailed a three pointer just seconds after coming off the bench. That shot gave Wisconsin a 14-13 lead that they would never relinquish.
Wilson would then hit another shot from deep just over a minute later and never looked back as he led the No. 14 Badgers (24-8) with a career-high 30 points in Wisconsin’s 79-71 victory over No. 15 Indiana.
Although the game was officially played on a neutral court, Banker’s Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis was anything but neutral Friday. The Hoosiers (25-8) came into the game 23-1 in games played inside the state of Indiana and certainly felt the support of a crowd littered with Crimson and Cream.
But this season that type of hostile environment hasn’t phased the Badgers a bit. With their latest victory, the Badgers are now 10-4 away from the Kohl Center.
“All year long, we have done it,” UW sophomore guard Josh Gasser said. “This was nothing like a neutral court game when you heard how loud the crowd was after [Indiana] went on runs.”
Though it was a team effort, Friday was all about Rob Wilson. Wilson entered the game averaging just 3.1 points and 10.7 minutes per game this season. Just 40 minutes later, Wilson was the talk of the tournament, trending worldwide on Twitter after he hit a final free throw to give him 30 points for the afternoon.
The Badgers have known all along that Wilson had the capability of playing at this level so the feeling post game was more a feeling of satisfaction than of surprise.
“It’s never too late to turn it on,” sophomore guard Ben Brust said. “He has had ups and downs like many of us so it’s just great to see him in his senior year not wanting it to end.”
With senior guard Jordan Taylor admittedly struggling on the offensive end, the Badgers needed the so-called supporting cast to step up and they certainly answered the call.
Beyond Wilson, UW got double-digit contributions from junior forwards Ryan Evans and Jared Berggren, Berggren finishing just a rebound shy of a double-double with 16 points and 9 rebounds
“The best games we have played have been when we’ve had multiple guys contribute offensively,” Gasser said. “But when you’ve got a guy like Rob lighting it up light he did, it makes things a lot easier.”
Berggren also made his presence known on the defensive end. After holding Indiana freshman forward Cody Zeller to just seven points in Madison back Jan. 26, the Princeton, Minn native once again limited Zeller’s touches the entire way. Although Zeller was able to quietly rack up 17 points by way of a 7-for-8 effort at the charity stripe, the Washington, Ind native only grabbed a single rebound. More importantly, he only managed nine field goal attempts, never able to make a big time impact despite clearly bringing his A-game.
“Every good post player we go against I just try to limit his touches,” Berggren said. “Then when he does get the ball, just force him into tough shots and make him work for everything.”
In addition to overcoming the partisan crowd, the Badgers had to outplay some lingering demons as a result of three straight losses in Indianapolis, the most recent being an ugly 36-33 loss to Penn State in last year’s Big Ten quarterfinals. Unlike last year, when UW’s first points came a full 7:27 into the game, the shots were falling from the get go.
“I think that felt great,” Evans said. “We definitely had [last year’s loss] in the back of our mind but to be able to get out there and get the shots falling, and then to play well on defense, that’s big time.”
Though the Badgers built a lead that grew as large as 11 in the first half, Indiana did not go quietly. The Hoosiers cut the lead to five at the half, making an early second half push that brought them as close as one after Taylor was charged with an intentional foul trying to prevent Hoosier guard Victor Oladipo from getting a wide open layup. Oladipo would make just one of two free throws and Wisconsin would force a turnover, capitalizing after Wilson hit one of his seven three-pointers to give the Badgers a four-point cushion once again.
“We were fighting back every time they made a run,” Berggren said. “Every time they got the crowd going we just tried to handle it. We did just enough to counter their punches.”
The rest of the way the game went back and forth. Wisconsin was able to build their lead back up to nine halfway through the half only to see the Hoosiers counterpunch with a 12-2 run that brought them once again within a single point at the final media timeout with 3:45 left.
Berggren made two free throws to push the lead out to three and then fed Wilson for a layup to push that lead to five, again only to see IU respond as sophomore forward Will Sheehey drained a long jump shot to get the Hoosiers within a possession with just under two minutes left. Berggren got a feed from Wilson and dunked it home at the other end but then fouled Zeller to keep Indiana alive.
Zeller made one of two, cutting the gap to four and setting the stage for who else but Rob Wilson.
With the shot clock running down and the Badgers in trouble, Wilson spotted up on the left wing and nailed a cold-blooded three, his 7th of the game, tying a UW record, giving Wisconsin a seven point cushion, and sending throngs of Crimson and Cream hurling toward the exits.
“Every time we made a push, they made a big play,” Indiana head coach Tom Crean said. “It was usually Rob Wilson making that play.”
Wisconsin has less than 24 hours to revel in this victory as a semifinal matchup with top-seeded Michigan State awaits them on Saturday. The Spartans have already beaten UW twice this season and while Friday’s win certainly got a big monkey off the Badgers’ backs, they are well aware that there is plenty more work to be done.
“It’s the best feeling right now,” Wilson said after the win. “To come down here and get a win is definitely something I have had on my checklist. We’ve accomplished it but now we’ve got more games to win.”
