BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana found themselves leading by nine and holding all of the momentum against No. 24 Wisconsin, but another late collapse by the Hoosiers keeps their NCAA Tournament hopes in the balance.
Indiana gave up a 12-0 run and hit just 1-of-14 field goals over the final 10 minutes leading to a 60-56 loss to Wisconsin, giving the Badgers at least a share of the Big Ten title.
“It’s just a really hard-fought game that’s going to come down to a few plays that you’re going to look back on and wish you had back,” Indiana head coach Archie Miller said. “But in a game of inches, you have to make those winning ones, and Wisconsin did.”
Indiana (19-12, 9-11 B1G) came out the gate looking to prove that they belonged in the big dance. Seniors Devonte Green and De’Ron Davis started the contest and carried the Hoosiers to a 20-13 lead at the second media timeout. Green scored 13 points while shooting 5-of-8 from the field and 2-of-3 from the three-point line.
“I’m always feeding off the energy in our building,” Green said. “Our fans always bring it, they make it easy for us to feed off their energy.”
Green finished with 16 points on the afternoon.
Davis only had four points in his first start of the season, but it was his presence in the paint and hustle that sparked the early lead. The Park Hill, Colo. native’s size matched well against Wisconsin redshirt junior Micah Potter. Davis’ presence and size forced Potter into tough shots around the rim limiting the Badgers’ leading scorer to just five first half points.
Both seniors played limited minutes in the second half and the Hoosiers had to find other sources of offensive production. Green was favoring his left ankle during the second half after he landed awkwardly in the first. Meanwhile, Wisconsin went on the attack around the rim and with their size, were able to disrupt Indiana on both sides of the floor.
Freshman Trayce Jackson-Davis scored just six points on the night on 2-of-8 shooting and junior Justin Smith went 3-of-7 with seven points. However, it was not just those two who struggled, Indiana’s big men went a combined 8-of-25 shooting at 32%. As a unit, the Hoosiers shot 14-of-43 on just two-point shots.