Badgers Suffer Controversial Overtime Defeat at Indiana, 78-77
The Wisconsin Badgers entered Saturday’s game against the Indiana Hoosiers 8-5 in Assembly Hall since 2008, the best mark in the Big Ten. There was legitimate optimism after Greg Gard and company found themselves entering February with a 7-3 record from the previous month to climb into the NCAA Tournament hunt.
Unfortunately, a wild game on the road saw the Badgers lose, 78-77 in overtime. It was an absolute rollercoaster, and after a second-half comeback forced overtime, the road team was struck with controversy to give Indiana a victory at home.
Rough Start From the Stars Put the Badgers Behind
Wisconsin didn’t look ready to start the Saturday matinee, as the stars failed to get going early. Nick Boyd, despite getting it going in the early and late minutes of the half, had a rough stretch midway through. John Blackwell went 1-for-8 with two points in 19 minutes.
The only Badger to consistently show up throughout the entire period was Nolan Winter. The seven-footer put up an extremely efficient 14 points and seven rebounds in the half on 6-for-7 shooting from the field.
It took a bit for the rest of the visitors to wake up, but as poorly as Wisconsin shot the ball and allowed the Hoosiers to score, the game never truly slipped away in the first half. Perhaps the most notable stat was that neither team shot a free throw with a combined 11 fouls.
As for Indiana, the home team was getting everything it wanted in terms of looks. The Hoosiers shot 16-for-31 from the field and notched 22 paint points. Lamar Wilkerson started hot as expected, recording 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the field.
The Badgers were down as many as 14 points with less than nine minutes to go, but then ended on an 18-10 run to make 36-30 at the break. They began to get hot from three, but the overarching trend was an inability to get into the paint. Wisconsin shot 2-for-10 on layups with just 10 points inside, despite grabbing eight offensive boards.
Wisconsin Mounted Another Comeback
The second half began with many of the same issues Wisconsin had in the first half. Indiana continued to get the looks it wanted, shooting 9-for-13 from the field in the first 10 minutes. Tucker DeVries took over for the Hoosiers in the first few minutes, recording 10 of his 16 total points in the period.
Sam Alexis took full advantage of Wisconsin’s lack of physicality in the paint, with 13 points in 15 minutes on 6-of-6 shooting. He would finish with an extremely efficient 19 points and seven rebounds on 9-of-10 shooting.
A back-and-forth stretch in the second half allowed Indiana to maintain a lead until the Badgers went on a 16-3 run to take a four-point lead with 57 seconds to go. Blackwell took over in the final 20 minutes of regulation, scoring 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
Despite the shortcomings, despite Indiana being in full control for the majority of the game, Wisconsin mounted yet another second-half comeback on the road. The visitors found themselves up multiple possessions with less than a minute after a huge Winter three.
However, the Hoosiers swung back, as Wilkerson got to the line twice in 34 seconds to tie the game. Blackwell had a good look with a patented mid-range jumper, but it was off the mark to send the game into extra time.
Controversy in Overtime
The referees were calling plenty of ticky-tack fouls the entire afternoon, and the Hoosiers abused that in overtime. Wisconsin began the period with a Winter layup, but after a scoring drought, Wilkerson drew a foul to tie it up at 74 apiece.
Winter then got back to the line for two free throws, followed by a trip from Boyd that saw him convert one of two shots from the charity stripe. Then, controversy struck, and the Badgers fell victim to questionable calls.
Up 77-76 after a Wilkerson layup, Boyd was dribbling out the clock and made contact with Conor Enright, who had been past all game. The refs called an offensive foul after a slight extension from Boyd, giving Indiana possession with 15 seconds to go.
What followed can only be described as heartbreak. Wilkerson was backing down Blackwell in the post, then slipped and threw the ball behind himself. The refs blew the whistle, and the Badgers were immediately up in arms as Blackwell fouled out. The replay only helped their case.
The Hoosiers knocked down two free throws to end the game and improve to 16-8 and 7-6 in the Big Ten. Wisconsin, on the other hand, drops to 16-7 and 8-4 in the conference.
