IU’s defensive play has been concerning all season, but Sunday at Wisconsin it appeared as if it turned the corner.
The Hoosiers never led the entire game, but because of their defensive intensity, they were able to keep pace with the Badgers. IU forced 13 Wisconsin turnovers and kept the home team to less than 40 percent shooting.
However, for as well as the defense performed, it didn’t translate to the offensive side of the ball. IU was only able to cash in for six points off Wisconsin turnovers, and the Badgers allowed their season average for points per game. IU wasn’t able to pull off the upset and win for the first time at Wisconsin since 1998 and lost, 65-60, to drop to 15-9 overall and 5-6 in Big Ten play.
“Our game plan was extremely aggressive, we had good deflection numbers, we had held them under 40, and they were undefeated when they shot 45 percent or better,” IU Coach Tom Crean said on the postgame radio show with Don Fischer on WHCC 105.1 FM.
Crean’s team defended the 3-point shot extremely well and held the Badgers to 24 percent from beyond the arc, but the Hoosiers failed to execute on the offensive glass and get to the free throw line consistently.
Wisconsin got to the charity stripe 31 times compared to IU’s 12 attempts. Although the Badgers are the third worst foul-shooting team in the conference, they were able to make 23 of their attempts — enough to make a difference in the game.
The Hoosiers were outdone on the offensive glass by five on Sunday, leading to nine second-chance points for Wisconsin.
On defense, the Hoosiers were double-teaming and pressuring the ball more than usual whenever the Badgers brought the ball past half court. Crean said it took a lot of energy for his guys to play that way.
“We have to be different right now and we don’t have a whole lot of experience,” Crean said. “We don’t have enough guys who understand how important every possession is defensively, so we have to play aggressive, and we’ve got to be even more aggressive in what we do in terms of the ball screens and in the post.”
Wisconsin sophomore forward Ethan Happ tore up IU inside the paint for the second game this season. After Happ dropped 19 on eight made shots in the first meeting, he poured in 20 on eight made shots Sunday.
Without junior guard James Blackmon Jr. and his big shot-making ability for the third consecutive game, the Hoosiers had to reinvent themselves by playing more aggressively than usual on defense. Blackmon warmed up with the team before the game and Crean said he hopes to have IU’s leading scorer back for Purdue.
Looking ahead to contests against Purdue and Michigan later this week, IU needs to make corrections on defense and carry what they’ve learned from Wisconsin with them.
“We just needed to be aggressive and if you come up here and play them in their style of play and they get to their x amount of possessions and x amount in the clock,” Crean said. “All of a sudden you find a way to lose because they’re just gonna pick you apart. You can’t just play them business as usual, and we didn’t.”
