The Badgers had their way in a big win over Indiana at the Kohl Center on Tuesday.
The Wisconsin Badgers pushed away to a 76-64 victory over the Indiana Hoosiers on Tuesday, improving to 18-5 on the season and 8-4 in conference play.
Thanks to an all-around effort on both ends, as well as a red-hot 19-2 start, the Badgers led comfortably for the entire game, not trailing once over the 40 minutes of regulation.
Here’s our recap of the Badgers 76-64 win over the Indiana Hoosiers on Tuesday.
1st Half
Wisconsin dominated the first half against Indiana by stretching the floor early with their three-point shooting, hitting seven of their first eight attempts from beyond the arc.
Five different Badgers knocked down a three, forcing Indiana to adjust defensively and opening up driving lanes. The Wisconsin big men, Steven Crowl and Nolan Winter, were the ones to open up the scoring for Wisconsin, as both hit threes during the first two possessions of the game. This really pushed Indiana to guard them outside and open up the inside driving lanes, leading to a heavy drive and kick strategy from the Badgers.
Senior guard Max Klesmit was stellar in the first half, both as a playmaker with five assists and as a scorer hitting threes in back-to-back possessions. Defensively he locked up the passing lanes, which drew praise from head coach Greg Gard postgame.
Wisconsin’s fast start, including a 26-4 lead in the first eight minutes, was fueled by great ball movement, with seven of their first nine field goals coming off assists.
After the hot start came a bit of a lull as the Badgers shots weren’t falling like they were, leading Indiana to find some rhythm, going on an 11-4 run by attacking the post and setting up good matchups on the outside.
Still, the Hoosiers really could not shorten the lead due to some abysmal shooting from deep, going 4 of 15 in the first half and not making their first three till the 11-minute mark of the game.
After the Badgers’ first 27 of their 36 points came from threes, they began to really slow down from deep, going 2 of 7 the rest of the way down.
Still, the Badgers still were able to keep a solid lead going into halftime with a score of 40-28 off the back of Nolan Winter’s eight points, as well as two threes from fan-favorite Carter Gilmore.
2nd Half
The Badgers started the second half much different from the first, getting to their spots and taking advantage of switches to get high-percentage shots inside the paint. Winter started the team off with four straight points in the post, getting to his spot on the right block.
Klesmit continued the attack with two great driving layups and converting an and-one. What continued to impress, however, was the defensive pressure the Badgers were able to put on, resulting in five forced turnovers early, with the senior guard picking up three steals during the period in the second half.
Quick Rotations, great help defensive, and some luck with some bad shot selection allowed Wisconsin to keep Indiana to only eight points in the first 10 minutes of the second, growing their lead to 22.
Offensively, their focus was evident as they sought to spread the Hoosiers out and open up the driving lanes. That, in return, got the ball to the playmakers, which worked early.
Head coach Greg Gard did a great job keeping the players on the court fresh, which was synonymous with Wisconsin’s strategy to have a faster pace in this one, getting the team spark plugs when they need.
At around the five-minute mark, Carter Gilmore, Steven Crowl, John Blackwell, and Max Klesmit re-entered the game and completely took the chance of a comeback away from the Hoosiers. A deep three from Gilmore and a flagrant foul put the momentum back into Wisconsin’s hand as they put the game away.
Four Badgers ended the game in double figures, with Carter Gilmore putting together yet another quality performance with three threes, even getting some MVP chants from the crowd.
The Badgers ended the game with a 76-64 win over the Hoosiers, improving their record to 18-5 and 8-4 in conference play. They’ll look to continue their recent stretch of good play in the Big Ten against Iowa this Saturday.