Wisconsin 71, Indiana 61
He leads short-handed UW with 28 points
Ethan Happ scores 28 to pace the short-handed Badgers to victory.
MADISON – No D’Mitrik Trice, no Kobe King and now no Brevin Pritzl?
No problem for Wisconsin. The Badgers have Ethan Happ and Indiana doesn’t. Advantage UW.
Happ didn’t have to fly solo Tuesday night at the Kohl Center, but the redshirt junior repeatedly made plays on both ends of the court and finished with 28 points, nine rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks in UW’s 71-61 victory in front of an announced crowd of 17,287.
“I don’t need to say it; it’s obvious,” UW coach Greg Gard said. “I’m extremely happy for our guys, how hard they played.
“Different guys stepped up. I thought Happ was terrific.
“But so many other guys stepped up at key times…I thought it was a terrific team effort.”
This is not a vintage Indiana team under first-year coach Archie Miller, but with Pritzl (concussion) joining UW’s injury list after colliding with a teammate during shootaround just hours before tip, the Badgers at times went with a lineup that featured three players who joined the program as walk-ons.
UW (9-7, 2-1 Big Ten) overcame the latest injury and extended is winning streak to five games and moved two games above the .500 mark for the first time since a 2-0 start.
The Badgers extended their home winning streak over Indiana (8-7, 1-2) to 16 games and have won 19 of the last 21 meetings in Madison.
Happ hit 6 of 7 shots and scored 15 points in the first half to keep UW
MADISON – Wisconsin’s defense should have one of its best players on the field in 2018.
Inside linebacker T.J. Edwards, who was mulling whether to enter the National Football League draft, announced Tuesday he is returning to UW for his senior season.
“I couldn’t be more excited for my senior season at Wisconsin!” he wrote on Twitter. “This program means the world to me and I can’t wait to get back to work to finish what we started.”
Edwards recorded six tackles in UW’s 34-24 victory over Miami in the Orange Bowl to help the Badgers finish 13-1 on the season.
Edwards acknowledged before the bowl game the grade he received from NFL Advisory Board was to return to UW. He insisted he wouldn’t make a decision on his future until after the game.
“It is hard for me to be selfish and think about me at a time like this,” he said before the game. “I want to focus on the game ... and then make the decision and move on with it.”
His decision means UW will return its top three inside linebackers in 2018 – Edwards, Ryan Connelly and Chris Orr.
Edwards led UW in tackles in 2015 and ’16 and finished second on the team this season with 81, just seven behind
Connelly.
Edwards tied for the team lead in interceptions (four). He and Connelly finished with 11 tackles for loss, tied for the No. 2 mark on the team behind senior outside linebacker Garret Dooley.
Orr recorded 36 tackles and one interception this season.
Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard said before the Orange Bowl that Edwards was ready to make the jump to the NFL, particularly mentally, but could still develop as a player if he returned to UW.
“He’s got a great grasp of football,” Leonhard said. “Obviously the more time the better, but what he has done on the field this year has been very impressive to me.
“The consistency. … He has made big plays for us. … Just a credit to how he has approached (things) really since the season ended last year.”
On Tuesday, Leonhard was clearly happy Edwards would be back.
“Odds of me looking like a good coordinator again next year are on the rise,” he declared on Twitter.