BLOOMINGTON, Indiana — Indiana has gone from 10th in the country to bottom in the Big Ten in just over a month with a 1-4 conference record.
The Hoosiers have lost six of their last nine games, including three straight in Big Ten play. Indiana returns home on Saturday to take on the No. 18 Wisconsin Badgers, who have lost back-to-back. The Hoosiers still have 75 percent of their Big Ten game slate left, but Saturday is a must-win game for a variety of reasons.
“Our boys are a little down at the moment and they should be,” said Woodson. “They were slapped in the face [at Penn State]. And my thing is we just don’t compete. At all. And that’s on me. I have to make us compete harder.”
- *** LIVE BLOG: And once the game starts, you can follow all the action on our live blog from HoosiersNow.com editor Tom Brew. To read this story CLICK HERE.
How to watch Indiana Hoosiers vs. Wisconsin Badgers
- Who: Indiana Hoosiers (10-6, 1-4) vs. Wisconsin Badgers (11-4, 3-2)
- What: Indiana’s third Big Ten home game (1-1 in first two)
- When: Saturday, January 14 at 1 p.m. ET
- Where from: Assembly Hall by Simon Skjodt in Bloomington, Indiana
- TV: CBS
- Announcer: Spero Dedes (Play-by-Play), Bill Raftery (Analyst), Jay Wright (Analyst)
- Live broadcast: fuboTV (start free trial)
- Radio: IU Radio Network (Bloomington: 105.1 WHCC-FM, Indianapolis: 107.5 WFNI-FM)
- radio announcer: Don Fischer (play-by-play), Errek Suhr (color), John Herrick (prelude, halftime, postlude)
- Point distribution: Will be updated when available.
- Associated Press poll: Indiana dropped out of the AP Top 25 for the first time all season after losses to Iowa and Northwestern. Wisconsin fell four places to 18th after losses to Illinois and Michigan State. The Badgers have been ranked between No. 14 and No. 22 since they were first ranked on Dec. 12.
- KenPom Rankings: Indiana is No. 33 in the KenPom rankings as of Friday afternoon. The Hoosiers are No. 63 on adjusted defensive efficiency and No. 25 on adjusted offensive efficiency. Wisconsin ranks 56th overall, 33rd in Adjusted Defense Efficiency, and 94th in Adjusted Offense Efficiency.
- Season projections: As of Friday, Indiana has the 12th best chance of winning the Big Ten’s regular-season title at plus 10,000. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Indiana is plus-2600 to reach the Final Four and plus-10000 to win the National Championship.
- The last three games: Indiana lost 85-66 at Penn State on Wednesday, 84-83 at home to Northwestern on Sunday, 91-89 in Iowa on Jan. 5. Wisconsin lost 69-65 at home to Michigan State on Tuesday and 79-69 on Saturday in Illinois, and defeated Minnesota 63-60 at home on Jan. 3.
- Last season’s records: Indiana went 21-14 overall, 9-11 in Big Ten game, 14-4 at home, 3-8 on the road and 4-2 at neutral venues in 2021-22. The Hoosiers finished ninth in the Big Ten, defeated Wyoming in the NCAA Tournament First Four and lost in the Round of 64 to Saint Mary’s -2 on the road and 4-2 at neutral sites in 2021-22. Wisconsin won part of the Big Ten regular-season title but, as No. 3, lost to No. 11 Iowa State 54-49 in the round of 32 of the NCAA tournament.
- Series history: Indiana leads the all-time streak 96-80, but Wisconsin is 24-3 against Indiana as of January 31, 2008. The Hoosiers held a 52-6 record against Wisconsin between March 5, 1968 and January 5, 2000, including a 31-game winning streak.
- Last meeting: Wisconsin defeated Indiana on February 15, 2022 in Bloomington, Indiana, 74-69. Johnny Davis had 30 points and 12 rebounds in 10-for-15 shooting and Brad Davison added 21 points and seven rebounds. Davis scored 13 points in the 3:52 final to close a five-point deficit. Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis had 30 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three blocks, and Race Thompson added 13 points and eight rebounds. The Hoosiers shot 41 percent overall and 27.8 percent from 3.
Leading scorers
- Indiana Hoosiers
- F Trayce Jackson-Davis: 17.4 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 3.3 apg, 2.8 bpg
- G Jalen Hood-Schifino: 13.2 ppg, 4.5 apg, 4.4 rpg, 45.8 3pt FG pct
- G Tamar Bates: 9.3 ppg, 40.7 3-point FG pct
- Wisconsin Badgers
- F Tyler Wahl (from last two games): 13.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg
- G Chucky Hepburn: 13.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.4 apg, 48.5 3pt FG pct
- C Steven Crowl: 12.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 3.1 apg
- G Connor Essegian: 10.3 ppg, 45.6 3-pt FG pct
Get to know the trainers
- Greg Gard, Wisconsin: In his eighth season in Wisconsin, Gard has one 155-82 overall record and an 87-52 mark in Big Ten play. Gard has hit two sweet 16 runs in his first two seasons, but he hasn’t made it past the round of 16 since 2017. He has a 5-3 record in the NCAA tournament. Gard was named Big Ten Coach of the Year when he led the Badgers to a share of the Big Ten regular-season title in 2019-20 and 2021-22. Gard began his Wisconsin career in 2001 as an assistant to Bo Ryan and took over for Ryan prior to the 2015-16 season. A native of Cobb, Wisc., Gard, 52, began his coaching career in 1990 at Southwestern High School. He was an assistant at Platteville High School before receiving assistant coaching jobs at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
- Mike Woodson, Indiana: In his second season at Indiana, Woodson holds a 31-20 record. Woodson has NBA head coaching experience with the Atlanta Hawks from 2004 to 2010 and the New York Knicks from 2012 to 2014. Since 1996, Woodson has also been an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks and Los Angeles clippers Woodson played at Indiana University from 1976 to 1980 and was named the Big Ten’s Most Valuable Player as a senior under coach Bob Knight. He was the 12th overall pick in the 1980 NBA Draft and played for various teams from 1980 to 1991, averaging 14 points in 786 games.
Scroll to Next
Indiana Hoosiers forward Trayce Jackson-Davis (23) reacts to a basket during the second half against the Wisconsin Badgers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Three things to keep in mind about Indiana vs. Wisconsin
1. Indiana’s Fighting Defense
Indiana had the best defensive efficiency in the Big Ten in its freshman year under coach Mike Woodson, but the Hoosiers took a noticeable step backwards in 2022-23. Indiana has conceded more than 80 points in three consecutive Big Ten games for the first time since 1998, contributing to his three-game losing streak. For a breakdown of Indiana’s defensive collapse against Penn State, who set a school record with 18 3-pointers, click here. Indiana is desperate to turn things around, and it starts Saturday against a Wisconsin offense ranked 95th in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency.
2. Injuries on both sides
Indiana starters Race Thompson (knee) and Xavier Johnson (foot) are out indefinitely, and Wisconsin is also struggling with a life-threatening injury. Strong starting forward Tyler Wahl (ankle) has missed Wisconsin’s last two games, losses to Michigan State and Illinois. Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said Wahl didn’t practice Thursday and he doesn’t know if he’ll be available against Indiana on Saturday. Wahl leads Wisconsin with 13.2 points and he is second under Badgers with 6.4 rebounds. Carter Gilmore, a 6-foot-7 junior, has started the last two games, recording four points and seven rebounds against Illinois and five points against Michigan State.
3. Role players reinforce each other
Mike Woodson called some Hoosiers after their 85-66 loss at Penn State on Wednesday.
“The Millers, the Geronimos, the Galloways — they’re seniors,” Woodson said. “They have to step up and play and give us more. I thought Gallo started, but I thought Geronimo was everywhere. I thought Miller was everywhere.”
Miller Kopp is shooting 44.9 percent from 3 this season, but he’s only fired eight shots in 86 minutes in the last three games. Unless Indiana can find candid looks for Kopp, he doesn’t offer much value elsewhere. Jordan Geronimo has started his last two games without Race Thompson. He went scoreless and really struggled against Northwestern but played a little better at Penn State, recording six points, six rebounds and two blocks. Trey Galloway did a solid job on Jalen Pickett, keeping him to 12 points compared to Pickett’s 17.9 average, and he’ll likely pull the submission against Wisconsin’s Chucky Hepburn, who is at 48.5 percent 3-point shooting scored an average of 13 points.
- INDIANA’S DEFENSIVE BREAKDOWN: Penn State set a school record with 18 3-pointers in Wednesday’s 85-66 win over Indiana. Here’s a breakdown of each game, including an analysis of Indiana’s defensive mishaps. CLICK HERE
- PILLAR: Indiana was 7-0 and No. 10 in the country as we rolled into December, but they’re a mess now as they spiral down into the basement of the Big Ten. There is one statistic that clearly shows the difference between these two teams, what Indiana was and what it is today. CLICK HERE
- GAME STORY: Indiana allowed Penn State to set a school record 18 three-pointers, and it all added up to an ugly 85-66 state college loss. It was Penn State’s largest-ever winning margin in the 56-game streak. CLICK HERE
- WHAT TREY GALLOWAY SAID: Indiana junior guard Trey Galloway caught up with the media via Zoom following Indiana’s 85-66 loss to Penn State on Wednesday night. Here’s the full transcript of his interview, as well as the full video. CLICK HERE
- WHAT MIKE WOODSON SAID: Indiana coach Mike Woodson caught up with the media via Zoom Wednesday night after the Hoosiers lost 85-66 to Penn State and fell to 1-4 and 10-6 overall in the Big Ten. Here’s the full transcript of his post-match press conference. CLICK HERE
