National Basketball Association
Wisconsin 79, Indiana 71
When: 2:25 PM ET, Friday, March 9, 2012
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Officials:
# D.J. Carstensen, # Michael Kitts, # Jim Schippers
Attendance:
18484
By SportsDirect Inc.
Wisconsin 79, Indiana 71: Rob Wilson scored a career-high 30 points as Wisconsin defeated the Hoosiers in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis.
Wilson, a senior guard, entered averaging 3.1 points, and his previous career high was a 13-point effort in 2010. But on a big stage in a big game, he calmly sank 7-of-10 3-point attempts and had 19 of his points in the second half.
Jared Berggren finished with 16 points and nine rebounds for the fourth-seeded Badgers (24-8), who will advance to play No. 1 seed Michigan State in the semifinals on Saturday. Ryan Evans and Jordan Taylor each added 12.
Wisconsin, which lost 36-33 to Penn State in last year’s quarterfinals, turned in a complete effort this time around. The Badgers took a 36-31 lead at halftime and increased the advantage to 59-50 on an Evans jumper with 10:14 left.
Indiana (25-8) climbed within 67-64 on a Will Sheehey jumper with 2:06 left, but Berggren responded with a dunk on the ensuing possession to extend the lead to five. After the Hoosiers cut the deficit to four with a free throw, Wilson buried a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired with 32 seconds left.
Christian Watford, Jordan Hulls and Cody Zeller each had 17 points for Indiana, which lost for the 10th straight time against the Badgers. Watford also had a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Badgers made six less free throws than Indiana, but made up the difference with outside shooting. Wisconsin went 13-of-26 from 3-point range, while Indiana attempted a season-low six 3-pointers and made three of them.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Wisconsin’s win snapped a three-game losing streak in the Big Ten tournament … The Badgers haven’t won the title since 2008 … Indiana played without senior guard Verdell Jones III, who tore his ACL in the opening-round game against Penn State and is out for the season … The Badgers improved to 15-12 all-time in the tournament … Wilson tied Mike Walker for the most 3-point field goals made (7) in a single Big Ten conference game.
Top Game Performances
Indiana |
|
Wisconsin |
Jordan Hulls 17 |
Scoring |
Rob Wilson 30 |
Victor Oladipo 4 |
Assists |
Josh Gasser 4 |
Christian Watford 10 |
Rebounds |
Jared Berggren 9 |
Cody Zeller 7 |
Free Throws Made |
Jared Berggren 5 |
Cody Zeller 1 |
Steals |
Jared Berggren 1 |
N/A |
Blocks |
Jared Berggren 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Indiana
|
71 |
49.0 |
3-6 |
18-22 |
8 |
26 |
0 |
1 |
10 |
Wisconsin
|
79 |
48.2 |
13-26 |
12-16 |
16 |
26 |
2 |
4 |
7 |