Wisconsin came out hot at Assembly Hall, making its first seven shots, but suspect defense kept Indiana close as the Badgers took a 35-34 halftime lead. With a 12-game winning streak against Indiana on the line, the Badgers allowed too much dribble penetration. Twenty-four of Indiana's 34 first-half points came on dunks or layups. In order to hold on for win No. 13, Wisconsin will need to tighten up on the defensive end.
Offensively, the Badgers are finding good, open looks, but aside from the seven straight makes to start the game, have cooled and finished the half 16-of-28 from the floor. However, both Traevon Jackson and Bronson Koenig picked up two fouls, forcing Josh Gasser to take over point guard duties for the last eight minutes of the half. The Badgers' offense stalled noticeably with the top two ball handlers out. Gasser leads the Badgers with nine points, including a couple of nice post moves.
Below are some tempo-free stats from the Wisconsin State Journal's Jim Polzin. Here's ESPN's box score for the game.
Unofficial points per possession: UW 1.09, Indiana 1.06. UW shooting 57.1 percent, Indiana 51.7
— Jim Polzin (@JimPolzinWSJ) January 15, 2014
UW with a defensive rebounding percentage of 80. So far, so good in that area.
— Jim Polzin (@JimPolzinWSJ) January 15, 2014
UW with six turnovers in 32 possessions. Four of those are the result of offensive fouls.
— Jim Polzin (@JimPolzinWSJ) January 15, 2014