IU slapped by Badgers, 62-49

MADISON, Wis. – The IU men’s basketball team couldn’t overcome its worst shooting night of the year or a 20-point second half deficit as No. 13 Wisconsin topped the No. 11 Hoosiers 62-49 Thursday night.\nIt was IU’s first road loss of the year.\n“They just outfought us,” IU senior forward D.J. White said.\nThe Hoosiers could never recover from the late deficit, though they tried. \nBetween the 12:32 and 9:44 mark in the second half, IU freshman guard Eric Gordon outscored the Badgers 10-0 to pull IU within 10 points. But after his one-man comeback attempt, Gordon didn’t score again until the 1:03 mark, with the win well out of reach. \nDespite the Badger defense holding Gordon in check during that span, IU pulled to within five points of Wisconsin with about seven minutes left and six points with about four minutes left. But the Badgers were able to hold off the Hoosiers and put the game away.\n“We made a late run,” White said, “but we weren’t able to finish.”\nThe 49 points were the fewest the Hoosiers have scored in a game this season.\nIU coach Kelvin Sampson said the Hoosiers lost an “offensively-challenged game.”\nThe Hoosiers shot just 33.3 percent from the field while holding the Badgers to 34.5 percent. \nBut it was Wisconsin’s offensive rebounding advantage that made the huge difference. \n“Their offensive rebounds hurt us,” Sampson said.\nThough the Hoosiers outrebounded the Badgers 41-40, Wisconsin grabbed four more offensive boards than IU – which led to crucial second-chance points for the Badgers. \nIU is now tied in the loss column with three other teams in the Big Ten – Wisconsin, Michigan State and Purdue – though it trails each of those teams in the win column by one.\nGordon shot 6-of-14 in the game and scored 16 points, 3.1 points below his conference average. \nWhite recorded two game-highs, 22 points on 7-of-13 shootnig and pulled down 17 rebounds. \nSampson dropped to 11-2 in games following a loss in his IU career. \nThe Badgers built their second-half lead by building on the momentum they gained in the first half.\nThe Hoosiers shot just 30.8 percent from the field in the first half. The Badgers didn’t shoot much better (35.5 percent), but IU’s 11 turnovers to Wisconsin’s 3 lifted the Badgers to a 30-20 first-half lead.\nGordon, playing with a protective brace covering his injured left wrist, shot 2-of-7 from the field in the opening frame, turning the ball over twice and committing one foul.\nAfter the game, Sampson and Gordon said the wrist was not broken. Sampson said he expected Gordon to recover in a couple weeks. \n“It’s just sore really bad,” Gordon said. \nIU’s 20 first-half points is the fewest points the Hoosiers have scored in a half all season.\nA slow start in the second half didn’t help IU’s cause, either. Playing in zone defense, the Hoosiers couldn’t stop Wisconsin’s attack. The Badgers went on a 16-6 run to start the second half and open up a 20-point lead.\nThe Hoosiers scored those six points in the first 7:28 of the second half, until Gordon’s 10-point flurry. \nBecause his team was able to fight back, Sampson said he was pleased with the effort.\n“I thought we were a lot tougher tonight than we were Saturday,” Sampson said, “so that’s encouraging to us.”