MADISON, WI–It was a very tight, back-and-forth affair on another frigid night in Madison, but Wisconsin pulled out their third straight victory.

Nigel Hayes and Yogi Ferrell traded free throws and baskets down the stretch, but Ferrell’s last second jumper in regulation clanked off the rim and the teams got five extra minutes to sort things out.

More clutch free throws by Hayes, and a few huge defensive plays by Ethan Happ and Jordan Hill in overtime gave the Badgers the lead with nine seconds left. Ferrell, per usual, responded with a wide open three to cut the lead to one with 5.3 ticks remaining. Two more Hayes free throws (17-22 in the game) extended the lead back to three with 3.7 seconds left, and a well-defended inbound play iced the game for Wisconsin, 82-79.

The air was electric in the Kohl Center tonight, almost to the point that you could feel how important this game was for Wisconsin’s tournament hopes. The win ended Indiana’s undefeated Big Ten bid and extended Wisconsin’s home winning streak to 14 straight against the Hoosiers.

The theme of the game was sloppy play by both sides, with a combined 35 turnovers (IU 19, UW 16) between the two teams. It was the result of a game that highlighted the two teams contrasting styles, with the Badgers running their half-court swing offense and Indiana pushing the pace in transition as much as possible. Ferrell got Indiana off to a hot start, fearlessly speeding up the tempo and scoring a lot of buckets off Badger turnovers, something Wisconsin was largely unable to do when the Hoosiers put the ball on the floor. Indiana further dominated the paint in the first half, out-rebounding Wisconsin and outscoring them in the paint 12-6.

The second half, however, told a different story, as Greg Gard’s troops were more effective on the glass, in the paint, and especially at turning Indiana turnovers into points. In the end, Wisconsin scored a respectable 19 points off turnovers compared to 21 for the Hoosiers.

Hayes was his usual versatile, effective self on offense, scoring a Big Ten personal season-high 31 points on 7-12 shooting, complemented by 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals over 42 minutes.

“Hayes is one of the most incredibly gifted passers in college basketball,” Indiana head coach Tom Crean said after the team’s first Big Ten loss. Crean felt that Hayes’s passing out of the block made the game very difficult for Indiana to win.

Hayes did, however, turn the ball over 5 times, which helped lead to easy buckets for Indiana. He noticeably struggled when the defense collapsed on him in the post. He obviously won’t get nearly as much attention with the ball at the next level, but you can bet defenses across the Big Ten are taking notes of this strategy.

But the most important takeaway was his ability to dominate the game down the stretch. He hit four huge free throws to send the game to overtime, then went 6-6 from the line in the extra period. The Hoosier defenders continually struggled to out-muscle him in the post, which helped Wisconsin get into the bonus in both halves. His play in the second half and overtime alone was the most impressively dominating performance by a Badger since Frank the Tank last season.

“I’ve got this mindset of I’m the best player on the floor and nobody can guard me.” – Hayes explained after the game.

The two key matchups to watch heading into the game were Ferrell versus Bronson Koenig and Thomas Bryant against Ethan Happ. The latter lived up to the billing, with Bryant going for 16 points on 5-8 shooting (6-6 FT), 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. Happ, though undersized, used his skill and technique to outplay Bryant to the tune of 25 points (10-15 FG, 5-7 FT), 8 rebounds, 2 blocks and an impressive 4 steals.

Ferrell also held up his end of the bargain, with an impressive 30 point performance (12-20 FG, 5-6 3FG) while putting constant pressure on Wisconsin’s defense. Unfortunately, Koenig was absolutely invisible for the entire game until he made one of two free throws with 27 seconds left in overtime to put the Badgers up 79-76. He finished the game with 4 points on an abysmal 1-9 shooting, 0 assists and 3 turnovers in a rough 39 minutes on the court. Beyond the stats, he missed two wide-open layups after using great hesitation moves to get there, and was largely passive aside from that. If Koenig plays even an alright game, the Badgers probably take care of this one in regulation. Ferrell showed Koenig what a point guard NBA prospect is supposed to look like.

Vitto Brown did a great job playing like the role player he’s supposed to be. He scored efficiently when open, rebounded well and made all four of his free throws.

Jordan Hill was similarly effective on both ends of the court, hitting two big threes and taking two charges while guarding Ferrell for a large portion of the game. Hill didn’t miss from the field en route to a career-high 13 points (5-5 shooting) and was the Badgers’ best guard throughout the contest. He will continue to earn minutes with games like this, and he gives Gard more versatility with small ball lineups.

It’s no secret, but from here on out every game matters for Wisconsin this season, and tonight was another step in the right direction for this young group.

As Coach Gard put it after the game, “The chemistry and the culture in the locker room have grown tighter and tighter over the last five weeks … I don’t know if we would’ve been able to pull a win like this out 6-8 weeks ago, but the cohesiveness and how these guys are growing together is something that makes me extremely proud to be their coach.”

The Badgers will need to continue this chemistry in their next challenge at Illinois, Sunday, January 31st at 6:30 PM.

Game Notes

  • Wisconsin out-shot Indiana from the floor 52% – 45%. Indiana, however, won the battle from the free throw line, 89% – 76%.
  • No team in the Big Ten has come within seven points of beating Indiana. The Badgers have now lost to them by one on the road and beat them by three at home.
  • Wisconsin has now won 29 straight games when scoring over 70 points.

Photo: Andy Manis / Associated Press