Second half collapse sinks Hoosiers

IU fell short in its attempt to upset No. 14 Wisconsin for the second time this season, falling 69-58 to the Badgers in Madison, Wis.

After entering halftime with a 10-point lead, the flood gates opened for the Hoosier defense during a second half in which Wisconsin (23-5, 10-5) outscored IU 50-29.

IU sophomore point guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell said IU didn’t bear down and play defense in the second half.

“We over-helped, and then they knocked down some crucial threes,” he said.

During the first half, IU (15-12, 5-9) limited Wisconsin to 1-for-10 shooting from behind the arc in the first half — an uncharacteristic performance for a Badger team that made 37.1 percent of its 3-pointers entering Tuesday’s matchup. Wisconsin was 6-for-11 from 3-point range after halftime.

Ferrell said the Hoosiers’ lack of communication on defense was probably IU’s biggest problem, and it led to the over-helping.

“You can’t give too much, especially with Wisconsin, with them being a great 3-point shooting team,” he said. “They were running all the same sets ... we just broke down
defensively.”

IU Coach Tom Crean said in the Big Ten, defenders can’t be caught over-helping because there are too many good shooters who can take advantage of defensive miscues.

“Once we start getting beat off the dribble, your natural defensive rules come in.” he said. “We’re rotating to help and they hurt that.”

Wisconsin sophomore forward Sam Dekker led the Badgers with 16 points, and all five of their starters reached double figures in scoring.

“All their starters can shoot the ball, but they can all pass the ball,” Crean said. “A lot of times, you’re ready for one or two guys that are very good passers. Their whole team is.”

After shooting 25.9 percent in the first half, Wisconsin was 13-for-21 shooting after halftime.

“They got hot,” Crean said. “The basket started looking pretty big to them.”

Nearly one-third of Wisconsin’s points came from the free throw line, where the nation’s No. 14 team converted 91.7 percent of its 24 attempts Tuesday.

Ferrell and freshman forward Noah Vonleh scored 42 of IU’s points on 17-for-34 shooting.

“We were getting the ball to the guys who could score,” Crean said.

Vonleh made a season-high eight field goals and showed his offensive versatility. The 6-foot-10 forward was 2-for-3 from 3-point range and was able to attack Wisconsin off the dribble.

He said was able to score by keeping his dribble low, pushing the ball out in front of him and getting to the rim.

In addition to Ferrell and Vonleh, only three other players scored. The rest of the team was 7-for-23 from the field.

The Hoosiers out-rebounded Wisconsin 33-29, but Crean said IU wasn’t able to get the putbacks it needed.

He said the team’s offense also suffered because of its lack of defensive pressure during the second half.

“Because we weren’t getting stops, our break wasn’t as effective in the second half,” Crean said. “We were going against a set defense more, which they’re very good (at).”

Crean said it’s important for IU to control its emotions at this time of the year with two matchups against ranked opponents in the next five days.

“It’s gonna be two teams that are coming off a loss that are gonna be really hungry to win,” he said. “We need our fans to understand that these guys are working at an incredible level and they want it.”

@AndyWittry