BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Just a few weeks ago, Wisconsin men’s basketball was not
even considered a team worthy of NCAA Tournament consideration. After Tuesday
night’s shocking upset on the road against No. 2 Indiana (3-1 Big Ten, 15-2
Overall), the Badgers (4-0 Big Ten, 13-4 Overall) are once again in the
conversation for a Big Ten title. In front of 17,472 Hoosier fans in shock at
Assembly Hall, Wisconsin pulled off the impossible with a 64-59 win.
After two lackluster efforts against Penn State and
Nebraska, the Badgers seem like a completely different team since a six-day
break prior to last Saturday’s defeat of then-No. 12 Illinois. After crushing
the Illini with a 23-point victory, the ever-present Badgers never let IU out
of their sights, keeping the game within two possessions before a second-half
run gave them a 10-point lead they would not relinquish.
Whatever concerns UW had heading into their first truly
hostile environment about the play of guard Traevon Jackson went away early as
the Westerville, Ohio-native had easily his best performance of a young career,
finishing with 11 points, 3 rebounds, and just 2 turnovers. Freshman Sam Dekker
also made a major impact, validating last week’s Big Ten freshman of the week
honor with 10 points off the UW bench.
But regardless of what the numbers might say, senior forward
Mike Bruesewitz was the clear leader of the Badger effort. In a game he said he
had circled at the beginning of the year, Bruesewitz made the most of it with
10 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists. More important were Bruesewitz’s
intangibles, picking up several loose balls and keeping the Badgers mentally
composed throughout.
“I was just trying to preach and tell the guys ‘stay loose,
stay loose’ throughout the game,” Bruesewitz said. “Otherwise environments like
this will swallow you up.”
After Wisconsin surged out to a 51-41 lead with just under
10 minutes remaining, the Hoosiers responded with a 10-1 run capped off by a
three-pointer from IU freshman Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell with just under 5 minutes
remaining that got the Hoosiers within 1 at 52-51.
“That was a huge shot for them because that could have been
the turning point,” UW head coach Bo Ryan said. “Fortunately our guys had
enough will.”
That will ultimately allowed UW to bounce back from that run
with a 10-1 run of their own, effectively sealing the game with two Jackson
free throws at the 40 second mark.
Free throws have been an issue all season with Wisconsin
shooting just 61% as a team at the line entering play on Tuesday. Despite
having yet to face a real test in the way of having to make pressure free
throws to close out a game, UW looked as if it had been in the moment all year,
making 6-of-8 at the line down the stretch to erase any hopes of an Indiana
comeback.
“I think the misses were a fluke,” UW senior forward Jared
Berggren said. “Now we are back to our old selves.”
With the Indiana becoming the highest ranked team Wisconsin
has beaten on the road in school history, the Badgers have now beaten Indiana
in 11 straight games dating all the way back to the tenure of former IU coach
Kelvin Sampson. Just a few weeks after being squarely on the proverbial bubble,
UW is now in the drivers seat for a conference title. With that as the focus,
Wisconsin will have to keep their celebrations short-lived.
“We’ve got Iowa on Saturday and they knocked us off twice
last year,” Brusewitz said. “We owe them something.”
Given little chance to compete in the Big Ten, the Badgers
might be the only ones not surprised to see their name at the top of the
standings.
“We’ve got a bunch of guys with a lot of heart,” Bruesewitz
added. “We’ve got a guy with a big red afro and a guy with a flat top. What
else do you need?”
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