» UW wins:
All-around effort eliminates Hoosiers
Wisconsin beats Indiana, 70-60, to advance to the semifinals of the Big Ten basketball tournament.
WASHINGTON - Wisconsin owns Indiana.
That much is undeniable, no matter where your allegiance lies.
It doesn’t matter who is coaching UW or whether the game is in the regular season or at the Big Ten tournament, odds are that the Badgers will prevail.
Second-seeded UW overcame early rebounding issues in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament Friday night at the Verizon Center but gradually took control on both ends en route to a 70-60 over the 10thseeded Hoosiers.
“I think our system…they want to get up and down,” said senior guard Zak Showalter, one of five UW players who scored in double figures. “They load their team with shooters and guys who can get ’em up in a hurry.
“If we can get a good look on the offensive end and set our defense…I think that is to our advantage. I think that’s why we handle them so well.”
Save for brief stretches, UW (24-8) handled the white-hot Hoosiers on both ends of the court to advance to the semifinals, set for 2:30 p.m. (Central) Saturday. UW will face No. 6 Northwestern (23-10), a 72-64 winner over No. 3 Maryland in the final game Friday..
Indiana (18-15) is not expected to get an NCAA at-large berth.
The Hoosiers fell to 216 against UW under coach Tom Crean, in his ninth season at Indiana, and 2-18 in the teams’ last 20 meetings.
Indiana was sizzling in its two previous games, victories over Ohio State and Iowa. The Hoosiers averaged 95.5 points, shot 55.8% from three-point range (24 of 43) and shot 59.5% overall (69 of 116) in those games.
UW held the Hoosiers to 40.9% shooting from three-point range (9 of 22) and 41.1% overall (23 of 56).
“It’s just the pace they play at,” said junior guard James Blackmon Jr., who scored 17 points to lead the Hoosiers. “They slow it down on us a little bit. Sometimes when our shots aren’t going in like tonight, it hurts us.”
Four UW starters finished in double figures and reserve guard D’Mitrik Trice made it a quintet of double-figure scorers.
Bronson Koenig fought through a chest cold to lead the way with 16 points, five of UW’s 15 assists and three of the team’s six steals. The senior hit 4 of 7 three-pointers and in three games against Indiana this season hit 11 of 16 from beyond the arc (68.8%). Koenig’s biggest basket Friday came on a drive past Josh Newkirk for a layup with 47.4 seconds left to end a 7-0 Indiana run and give UW a 66-60 lead.
“Unfortunately, that last play Koenig made at the rim, that was an absolute dagger,” Crean said. “He is a tremendous player.”
Ethan Happ, who averaged 19.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in the Badgers’ two regular-season victories over Indiana, overcame foul trouble to add 14 points and 12 rebounds.
“He always seems to play well against Indiana,” Showalter said of Happ, who hit 7 of 9 shots. “So I think when we drew that matchup he kind of got a little bit excited. He plays well against these guys. Offensively and defensively I thought he was in his groove.”
Trice hit 3 of 6 threepointers and finished with 13 points, three rebounds and three assists. Showalter had a critical steal after Koenig’s drive and then hit two free throws with 40 seconds left for a 68-60 lead. He finished with 12 points and helped hold Blackmon to seven points over the final 32 minutes 9 seconds. Nigel Hayes scored six of UW’s first eight points but sat out the final 15:38 of the first half after picking up his second foul. He finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and two assists.
UW hit 10 of 22 threepointers (45.5%), 27 of 57 shots overall (47.4%) and had 15 assists and only seven turnovers.
“We’re starting to do this weird thing where we play well offensively and defensively,” Hayes joked. “We haven’t really done that often. It is kind of new to us. Hopefully, we can keep that going.”