Redshirt sophomore Ethan Happ’s breakaway slam with just over three minutes to play in No. 10 Wisconsin’s (9-1 Big Ten, 20-3 overall) 65-60 victory over Indiana (5-6, 15-9) was just about the only highlight that the Badgers had Sunday afternoon. Bruises, charges, free throws and strong post play on both ends were both far more common.
Happ yet again led the Badgers with 20 points and seven rebounds and senior forward Nigel added a double-double, 15 points and 10 rebounds, as Wisconsin, lacking flash and gravitas, stifled Indiana throughout the afternoon.
Much like when the two teams met in Bloomington, Ind., in early January, the Badgers jumped out to an early lead.
Happ and the Badgers jumped out to a 6-0 lead at the first media timeout, and with 8:34 to play in the first half another layup by Happ gave UW a 12-point cushion.
But just like in the first meeting, IU went on a run midway through the first half to claw back into the game. Sophomore forward Thomas Bryant scored seven of his nine first-half points in the half’s final 8:34 and freshman forward De’Reon Davis tied the game at 24-24 with 2:33 to play in the period.
Senior Badger guard Bronson Koenig knocked down his first field goal of the game with 1:39 to go in the first half, giving UW the 3-point lead that they took into the locker room.
Coming out of the break leading 27-24, Wisconsin slowly extended its lead. Senior forward Vitto Brown made his first field goal of the game to open the scoring, but both teams continued to have blank trips on the offensive end of the floor.
Happ emphatically slammed down an alley-oop with 15:29 to play in the game, and one possession later tipped in a miss from redshirt senior guard Zak Showalter to give UW a 9-point lead.
Indiana would respond with a 7-0 run of its own to cut the Badgers’ lead to just two points with 10:39 to play, but the game would never get closer than that.
A flurry of baskets from Happ, Hayes, Koenig and redshirt freshman guard Brevin Pritzl helped push UW’s lead to seven with 6:18 to play.
Wisconsin’s defense continued to bend, but the Hoosiers were never able to break through.
On the offensive end, the Badgers continued to wear Indiana down on the inside. Wisconsin took a mere seven 3-pointers in the second half, and instead played through the post almost every trip down the floor.
A three with 1:34 to play from Showalter extended UW’s lead to eight, and the Badgers held on from there despite a flurry of a comeback effort in the final minute from IU.
Bryant made only one field goal in the second half for the Hoosiers, who have now lost three of their last four games. Wisconsin, on the other hand, has now won seven straight games and 15 of its last 16.
