Wisconsin at Indiana: how to watch, game preview and open thread

The No. 15 Wisconsin Badgers (19-5 overall, 10-4 Big Ten) men’s basketball team is back on the road Tuesday night as they travel to Bloomington, Ind. to take on the reeling Indiana Hoosiers (16-8 overall, 7-7 Big Ten). IU has lost three straight games and recently suspended five players for their game against Northwestern. The Badgers aren’t doing THAT much better, having lost two of their last four including a clunker of a loss to Rutgers at the Kohl Center on Saturday.

You may remember the last time these two teams met, the Badgers erased a 22-point deficit and came back to beat the Hoosiers at the Kohl Center in December. Johnny Davis had 23 points and Chris Vogt and Ben Carlson provided valuable minutes off the bench in the second half while UW mounted their comeback.

Despite a mediocre conference record, the Hoosiers have had the second best defense in the Big Ten and do not allow their opponents to shoot well. The Badgers have been one of the worst shooting teams in the conference so this has the makings of a stereotypical B1G rock fight. IU also blocks a ton of shots, so players like Chucky Hepburn and Brad Davison will have to be wary of that when they attack the basket.

The Badgers have the fifth best defense in the conference while IU’s offense has been dreadful. The Hoosiers are one of two teams with a worse eFG% than the Badgers during Big Ten play. This game is probably not going to be aesthetically pleasing, but it should be noted that Wisconsin plays at a much faster pace than Indiana does during Big Ten play. TAKE THAT, NATIONAL NARRATIVE!

How to watch/listen

TV: ESPN2, 8:00 p.m. CT, Jason Benetti, Jay Bilas

Streaming: ESPN App; WatchESPN

Radio/Satellite: WIBA 1310 AM, Sirius/XM 196; Matt Lepay, Mike Lucas

Live stats: Here!

Arena: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Ind.

DraftKings Line: Wisconsin +3
(Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.)

KenPom Wisconsin win percentage: 41%
Torvik Wisconsin win percentage: 32%

Fun facts (according to the media guides)

• Tuesday’s game marks meeting No. 175 between Wisconsin and Indiana dating back to 1910. The Hoosiers lead the all-time series, 97-78.
• UW has won 22 of the last 25 matchups with Indiana, including nine of the last 10.
• Greg Gard is 9-2 in his career vs. Indiana.
• UW has also won seven of the last 10 games at Assembly Hall, dating back to 2008.

• In UW’s most recent trip to Bloomington, Wisconsin pulled off a comeback 60-56 win in the final game of the regular season to clinch a share of the 2020 Big Ten Championship.
• From 2008-2013, the Badgers won five straight games at Assembly Hall. UW is the only team in history to beat Indiana five consecutive times in that building. In fact, no other visiting team has won more than three straight at Assembly Hall.
• The Hoosiers and Badgers met on Dec. 8 in Madison, IU built a 22-point first half lead, but Wisconsin fought back and took a lead with 1:03 remaining to post a 64-59 win.
• Wisconsin’s eight Quad 1 wins are second most in the country, trailing only Baylor (nine). The Badgers 11-4 in the first two quadrants.
• Wisconsin is one win away from the 20-win mark for the 17th time in the last 20 seasons. Greg Gard has led UW to four 20-win seasons.
• UW has 10+ Big Ten wins for the 19th time in the last 21 years. The only team to do so.
• Wisconsin is 9-2 away from home this year, including a mark of 6-2 in true road games, leading the Big Ten in wins in both categories.
• Wisconsin leads the NCAA averaging just 8.4 turnovers per game.
• Brad Davison has a pair of double-digit scoring efforts vs. Indiana, including 14 points as a freshman. He also hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 4:00 remaining in Wisconsin’s 2020 win at Assembly Hall that clinched the team’s Big Ten championship.
• Davison is also engaged to the all-time leading scorer in IU women’s hoops history, and current UW-Milwaukee assistant coach, Tyra Buss.
• Coming off a career-high 23 points vs. Rutgers (2/12), Junior Tyler Wahl is averaging 12.8 ppg and 6.4 rpg in Big Ten play, shooting 55.5% FG.

• IU is first in the Big Ten and sixth in country in field goal percentage defense (37.6%) and first in conference games only (39.8). The Hoosiers also lead the league in scoring defense (63.8) overall and in conference play (65.1).
• IU is second in the league in blocked shots per game (5.4).
• Trayce Jackson-Davis is averaging 17.5 points (7th in Big Ten), 8.3 rebounds (4th), shooting 56.9% from the floor (4th) and contributing 2.54 blocked shots (1st).
• Race Thompson has averaged a team-best 15.2 points and 8.8 rebounds in the last five games. He is ranked ninth in the Big Ten in rebounding (7.8) overall.
• Xavier Johnson is fifth in Big Ten in assists (4.55) per game.

Potential Starters

Wisconsin

• Johnny Davis, 6-foot-5, sophomore, guard, No. 1
• Tyler Wahl, 6-foot-9, junior, forward, No. 5
• Steven Crowl, 7-foot, sophomore, forward, No. 22
• Chucky Hepburn, 6-foot-2, freshman, guard, No. 23
• Brad Davison, 6-foot-4, super senior, guard, No. 34

Indiana

• Xavier Johnson, 6-foot-3, senior, guard, No. 0
• Miller Kopp, 6-foot-7, senior, forward, No. 12
• Trayce Jackson-Davis, 6-foot-9, junior, forward, No. 23
• Race Thompson, 6-foot-8, redshirt junior, forward, No. 25
• Trey Galloway, 6-foot-5, sophomore, guard, No. 32