Conor Enright energizes crowd, draws crucial charge in IU basketball’s win against Wisconsin

Photos from IU basketball's win against Wisconsin.

Throughout his first season in Bloomington, Darian DeVries has emphasized the importance of Assembly Hall’s environment to his team’s success. In the Hoosiers’ 78-77 overtime win against Wisconsin on Saturday, the energy of the crowd was a pivotal factor, as were numerous crucial plays from guard Conor Enright.

Ranking among the nation’s top ten facilitators by assist-to-turnover ratio, Enright’s intelligence is a known commodity, but equally impressive on Saturday was his ability to improvise.

In the first half, he made a desperation 3-pointer as the shot clock was about to expire, transforming a possession that was previously dead in the water. The veteran followed that circus play by drawing a charge on an increasingly frustrated Nick Boyd and feeding Jasai Miles for an open dunk.

As is often the case at the raucous Assembly Hall, the crowd’s cheers became louder as the moments got bigger. Indiana opened up a 26-12 lead in the first half, prompting a timeout from Wisconsin coach Greg Gard. If he wasn’t making circus threes or dropping dimes for his teammates, Enright was playing his role on a suffocating Indiana defense that held Wisconsin to 32.4 percent shooting in the opening 20 minutes.

After picking up his second foul, Enright sat for the final six minutes of the first half, which saw the Badgers cut a double-digit deficit down to six points at halftime. Lamar Wilkerson, Sam Alexis and Tucker DeVries kept Indiana ahead early in the second half and Enright once again made his presence felt by hustling for a loose ball, swatting it off of Boyd and out of bounds to give Indiana possession.

Indiana did not make a field goal for the final 5:32 of regulation, which allowed Wisconsin to take a 72-68 lead with under a minute left. Clutch free throws from Wilkerson, who finished 8-for-8 from the line, sent the game into overtime tied at 72 and it was in the extra period that Enright made the biggest play of the game.

With 30 seconds to go, Wilkerson made a layup to bring Indiana back to within one point at 77-76. Rather than fouling Wisconsin immediately, Darian DeVries elected to give his team time to try to force a turnover, which proved unsuccessful. As the clock ticked under 20 seconds and Indiana failed to pry the ball loose, anxiety filled the air.

Enright frantically chased Boyd outside the three-point line and drew a charge as the Wisconsin guard extended his arm and sent Enright to the hardwood, giving the Hoosiers possession and a chance to win the game.

Although plays like that don’t show up in the box score, they’re crucial to Indiana’s success.

“Conor just does what he does,” DeVries said. “He keeps competing, keeps fighting, and that was a huge play for us.”

After Wisconsin’s John Blackwell fouled Wilkerson with 2.8 seconds remaining, IU’s leading scorer made both foul shots and a half-court shot from Wisconsin’s Braeden Carrington clanged harmlessly off the backboard as time expired, sealing Indiana’s second overtime win in its last three games and bringing the NCAA tournament closer into view for the Hoosiers.

Much like his circus 3-pointer in the first half, drawing the game-altering charge was anything but routine for Enright.

“I was kind of panicking, trying to get a hold of [Boyd] because he was wasting time,” Enright said. “Then I saw his shoulder go into me and figured I might as well try and get a charge. It worked out.”

Along with many in the building, Enright’s hopes immediately after the whistle weren’t high. His first thought was that he was going to be issued a blocking foul.

“I was a little shocked, myself,” he said, adding that his focus immediately shifted to Indiana needing to score on the following possession.

Averaging under six points and three rebounds per game in his career, Enright isn’t known as a pure scorer or glass-cleaner. He did everything on Saturday, though, scoring 11 points and bringing down four rebounds in addition to dishing out six of Indiana’s 13 assists.

On Saturday, Enright’s impact on the game went well beyond the box score, which was made even sweeter by the fact that he grew up as a Wisconsin fan.

“That was my younger years,” he said. “I’m an Indiana fan now, though. It was great to get a win out there against them.”

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