Indiana men’s basketball has won four of its last five games. In each of the first three wins, the Hoosiers connected on 11 or more 3-pointers while shooting a minimum of 32.4% from beyond the arc.
Entering their contest with Wisconsin, the Cream and Crimson shot 35.3% on 3-point attempts. A 5-for-22 effort against the Badgers hurt the Hoosiers' percentage but wasn’t enough to stop them from earning their second overtime victory in eight days.
Indiana retook the lead in the final seconds of overtime to defeat Wisconsin 78-77 on Saturday inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
Fifth-year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson drilled a longball on the Hoosiers’ first possession of the game. Redshirt senior guard Conor Enright nailed a heave from 3-point range at the shot clock buzzer. Redshirt senior forward Tucker DeVries hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions, and another with just over 13 minutes remaining in regulation.
For the final 18 minutes of action, the Cream and Crimson failed to hit a 3-pointer. However, they only attempted five, signaling a shift in methodology to account for their shooting woes.
“A lot of nights we're up in that 30 range in attempts and tonight we were at 22,” Indiana head coach Darian DeVries said postgame. “If we're making them, we fire a few more up there, but we just weren't hitting them as we normally do. So I thought the guys did a good job of adjusting and adapting.”
Indiana averages 29.7 3-point attempts per game, and its 22 against Wisconsin is the fewest it’s attempted all season. On an off shooting night, the Hoosiers adjusted, pouring in 44 points in the paint.
Senior forward Sam Alexis led the effort, taking advantage of mismatches and overpowering smaller defenders in the post. Alexis finished with a season-high 19 points, and added seven rebounds and five blocks.
“I thought Sam was tremendous that second half,” DeVries said. “We were able to take advantage of a few switches. That's why they were able to stay in front of us a little better. They were switching a little more. We were able to throw it inside.”
As Indiana’s shooting went cold, the Badgers heated up and brought themselves back into the game after trailing by 14 points in the first half. Junior forward Nolan Winter posted 26 points and 12 rebounds, including a massive 3-pointer to cap a 10-0 Wisconsin run and take a 4-point lead with 57 seconds to play.
With the game on the line, Indiana turned to its most consistent scorer: Wilkerson. Despite shooting 1 for 8 from beyond the arc, Wilkerson spearheaded the Hoosiers’ offense down the stretch, dictating the flow of the Cream and Crimson’s half court attack.
Rather than making the Badgers pay at the 3-point line, Wilkerson focused his effort on penetrating the defense and drawing fouls. At the end of regulation, he drained four straight free throws to tie the game and force overtime. In overtime, he hit four more, including two with 2.8 seconds left on the clock to seal the win. Wilkerson’s poise garnered high praise from his teammates.
“He don't really miss in practice or like ever,” Alexis said. “So I don't really think he feels any pressure, to be honest, when he's shooting them.”
“If I had to pick a guy, I would put Lamar out there every single time to shoot every free throw in the game,” Enright added.
Wilkerson shot 7 for 12 from 2-point range in addition to 8 for 8 from the free throw line amid his team-leading 25-point performance. Enright and Tucker DeVries joined Alexis and Wilkerson in double digits as the Hoosiers outlasted the Badgers in overtime.
“They found a way. They didn't give into it. They kept fighting,” Darian DeVries said. “They kept in the huddle encouraging one another, and I think that's a sign of a veteran team.”
Next, the Cream and Crimson will look to build on their recent success as they host Oregon on Monday in Bloomington.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) and columnist Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
