Indiana Basketball: Hoosiers fall 60-56 to Wisconsin on Senior Day

The Indiana basketball team fought hard, but persisting offensive problems ended up losing them the game against Wisconsin 60-56 on senior day.

Indiana blew a great chance at another big win on Saturday as they squandered a lead late in their loss to Wisconsin. The Hoosiers went without a point for almost five minutes as they let a 51-44 slip away.

The standouts from this game statistically were Indiana’s Devonte Green — who finished with 16 points — and Wisconsin’s Nate Reuvers and Micah Potter — who had a combined 31 points and 18 rebounds.

Green set the tone for Indiana offensively, and the big man duo for Wisconsin played exceptional basketball all game long. Indiana standout Trayce Jackson-Davis had his worst performance in quite some time, going 2-8 from the field for six points and pulling in eight boards.

Green came out of the gates on fire, converting on his first three shots of the game for eight early points en route to a 16 point half. The Hoosiers desperately needed his offense too, as the rest of the team went a mere 4-16 from the field in the opening half. Jackson-Davis had an especially lackluster first-half performance, scoring zero points and only grabbing three rebounds.

Unfortunately for the Hoosiers, Green’s offense stagnated in the second half, and no one was able to fill the gaps. Green went 0-7 in the second half, contributing to a 10-32 half for Indiana from the field. This included a trademark long run without a field goal, as the Hoosiers went over 9:00 minutes without a basket down the stretch.

Although the Hoosiers fought hard all game, the floor stretching ability of Nate Reuvers and Micah Porter killed them, especially in the first half. Indiana was slow closing out on shooters, leading to six first-half threes.

These lapses in defense are tremendously disappointing considering Indiana played an otherwise sound game defensively against a Wisconsin team which has been the best offensive team in the country over their last six games. However, the offensive issues the Hoosiers struggle with continue to plague them and were the ultimate reason for this loss.

The Hoosiers need to make a splash in the Big Ten Tournament in order to lock up a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Otherwise, they’ll be very anxious on Selection Sunday.