The Minute After: Wisconsin

  • Feb 4, 2025 11:56 pm in

Thoughts on a 76-64 loss to the Badgers:

On paper, this looked like a tough matchup for Indiana.

On the court, it proved to be just that.

Wisconsin’s 3-point prowess showed up early and buried the Hoosiers. As Indiana lost shooters in the halfcourt and transition, the Badgers knocked down 6-of-7 from deep to start the contest. It led to a 26-4 lead at the 12:38 mark, Wisconsin scoring an insane 2.0 points per possession with an effective field goal percentage of 92 to start things in this one.

Indiana’s numbers during that same stretch? Just .31 points per possession with an effective field goal percentage of 20.

To IU’s credit, it didn’t completely wither away like we’ve seen in other games this season. Bryson Tucker hit 2-of-3 from deep, a rare sight. Myles Rice got to the line (4-of-5) and hit both his field goal attempts to score eight points. The Hoosiers cut the lead to 12 points at halftime, 40-28.

A Luke Goode 3-pointer at the 19:05 mark in the second half got the Hoosiers within 11 (42-31). But that was as close as they’d get the rest of the contest. While the Badgers didn’t shoot as well from deep over the final 20 minutes (3-of-13), they were able to straight-line drive the Hoosiers for buckets on several occasions to help grow the lead. And then a Carter Gilmore 3-pointer with five minutes left gave them their largest lead of the game at 23 points (68-45).

The Badgers took their foot off the gas from there, which allowed Indiana to get some late buckets to make the final score look better. But make no mistake: Wisconsin owned this game and cruised through the second half.

Mike Woodson tried some different lineup combos to try and find something. Trey Galloway and Goode started the second half in place of Malik Reneau and Anthony Leal. Reneau then got some extended run next to Goode in the frontcourt in the second half while Oumar Ballo rested. Reneau still looks rusty from his knee injury, but his nine minutes in the second half were his most efficient since returning. He scored six points on 3-of-4 shooting and stayed out of foul trouble for the game, recording just one.

Wisconsin did a better job than Purdue at handling Galloway in high ball-screen action, helping the Badgers hold Indiana under a point per possession (.97). Indiana also made a concerted effort to try and keep pace with Wisconsin from deep, as it shot 27 3-pointers tonight, but made just seven (25.9 percent). The Badgers went 12-of-29 (41.4 percent) from 3-point range and scored 1.15 points per possession.

Indiana has now lost 21 straight in Madison dating back to 1998. Tonight’s loss was its seventh by double-digits this season. The Hoosiers are 11th in the Big Ten standings. They’ve lost four straight and six of seven.

The trend is not good right now. Can the Hoosiers reverse it and pick up a Quad 1 win at home against Michigan on Saturday?

(Photo credit: IU Athletics)

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