Following a solid 73-54 win over Penn State on Sunday at Assembly Hall, the Hoosiers will travel to the Kohl Center on Thursday night for a meeting with No. 25 Wisconsin. Indiana last won in Madison on January 25, 1998.
The game will be shown on the ESPN2 (Dave O’Brien and Stephen Bardo) and broadcast on the IU radio network:
If Indiana hopes to reverse a two-game road skid in Big Ten play, the Hoosiers must do so against the Big Ten’s hottest team over the past two weeks. After many questioned Wisconsin’s ability to finish in the upper tier of the conference, Bo Ryan’s club responded with a four-game winning streak and a return to the top 25.
So what’s led to the turnaround in Madison? A return to form by point guard Jordan Taylor, last week’s Big Ten player of the week, paired with one of the country’s elite defenses. No team in the conference imposes its style of play on the opposition more effectively than the Badgers. Wisconsin is playing the slowest tempo (average of 58.8 possessions per game) and is also giving up second fewest points per possession — 0.96 — in league play.
By comparison, the Hoosiers play the third fastest pace in the conference at 66.5 possessions per game. Tom Crean talked about the importance of his team valuing each possession on his radio show Monday night and this game, perhaps more than any other, will bring that storyline to the forefront.
