Offense: A
Where was this shooting for over Wisconsin over their last three games? The Badgers shot a combined 56-for-159 (35.2 percent) from the field over their last three games but against Indiana, the Badgers shot an impressive 53.6 percent on 30-for-56 shooting from the field.
Wisconsin was able to go into halftime up 47-27 thanks to shooting a season high 62.5 percent (20-for-32) from the field in the first half. Wisconsin was able to carry that strong shooting performance from the first half into the final 20 minutes in order to snap the Badgers three game losing streak.
In particular, Kobe King and Nate Reuvers both had excellent games on the offensive end. King finished with a career-high 24 points and Reuvers finished the game second in points with 20. Between the two King and Reuvers shot a combined 18-for-27 from the field.
Aleem Ford also had a productive game on the offensive end as he scored 13 points. Most importantly he was able to knock down his 3-point attempts as five of his six shot attempts came from 3-point range with him making three of them. Overall Wisconsin shot 8-for-20 (40 percent) from three.
With Wisconsin having success from three it helped open up lanes for King and Reuvers to attack the paint as the Badgers finished with 32 points in the paint. Wisconsin also finished the game with eight offensive rebounds, which they turned into 11 points.
Defense: A
Indiana entered the game against Wisconsin shooting 51.7 percent (233-for-450) from the field as their worst shooting performance came against South Dakota State when they shot 41.4 percent (24-for-58).
Wisconsin’s defense was able to hold Indiana to shoot 42 percent (21-for-50) from the field and shot 35.7 percent (5-for-14) from three.
Aljami Durham lead Indiana with 17 points as he went 3-for-7 from the field as all of his made shots came from three. Justin Smith and Devonte Green were both held to 10 points.
Green who leads Indiana in scoring this year has been able to generate his offensive success from three as a majority of his shot attempts have come from there but Green only attempted two 3-point attempts. As he finished the game 3-for-8 from the field.
In particular, Wisconsin’s defense was able to disrupt Indiana’s offense as they forced the Hoosiers into 12 turnovers, which the Badgers turned into 18 points. Five of the 12 turnovers the Badgers created came off of steals as three different players for the Badgers registered a steal. Reuvers and Tyler Wahl each had two and Brad Davison had one steal.
Indiana did have success down low as the Hoosiers finished the game with 30 points in the paint and registered 10 offensive rebounds, which they turned into 12 points. Wisconsin was able to win the rebounding battle 29-28 over Indiana.
Overall: A
Wisconsin has now won 17 straight games over Indiana in Madison as the Badgers had the type of performance the Badgers needed to snap their three game losing streak.
Wisconsin was able to finally get on track offensively as the 53.6 percent the Badgers shot against the Hoosiers was a season best. The Badgers consistently were able to work the basketball around as they registered 13 assists on their 30 made field goals.
In addition, they did an excellent job of taking care of the basketball making sure turnovers weren’t going to disrupt the rhythm the Badgers established on offense as they committed a season low four turnovers.
Wisconsin utilized the first five minutes of the game to establish a double-digit lead, which they never relinquished. In that stretch, Wisconsin shot 6-for-10 from the field as the Badgers were able to build a 15-to-4 lead. Three different Badgers were responsible for the 15 points as Reuvers was responsible for seven points, King had five points, and Ford had three points.
Wisconsin also received production from its bench as the Badgers bench contributed 17 points. Brevin Pritzl lead the way with nine points, Wahl contributed six points on 2-for-3 shooting, and Michael Ballard scored two points off of free throws in the final minute of the game. In addition, the bench was responsible for five of Wisconsin’s 13 assists.
Game MVP: Kobe King
King was hunting for his shot early and often against Indiana as he finished with a career-high 24 points on an impressive 10-for-15 shooting from the field. Not to mention King scored 17 of his points in the first half on 8-for-10 shooting. With King finding ways of attacking the paint he was also able to get to the free throw line four times with him making three of his attempts. King also finished the game with four rebounds, one assist, and one block.