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Indiana Hoosiers at Wisconsin Badgers basketball preview: IU seeks first win in Madison since 1998

By John M. IU

Wisconsin Badgers
Current record: 13-4 (3-2)
Current RPI: 29 (IU is #155)
Current Sagarin: 16 (IU is #97)
Current Pomeroy: 10 (IU is #67)
2009-10 record: 23-7 (13-5), lost to Cornell in second round of NCAA Tournament
2009-10 RPI: 21
2009-10 Sagarin: 14
2009-10 Pomeroy: 9
Series: IU leads 94-61
Last IU win: 1/31/2007 (71-66 in Bloomington)
Last Wisconsin win: 2/13/2010 (78-46 in Bloomington)
Last IU win in Madison: 1/25/1998 (69-59)
Pomeroy scouting report
TV: 9 pm Thursday, ESPN

Blog: Bucky's Fifth Quarter

IU seeks its first Big Ten winning streak of the season at one of the Big Ten's toughest venues.  After losing in Madison in 1980, IU won every game against Wisconsin until losing at the old Filedhouse in 1997.  The Hoosiers won on their first trip to the Kohl Center, in 1998, but haven't won in Madison since.  Despite IU's good performance against Michigan, it will be a tall order.  As usual, the Badgers are undefeated at home.  Wisconsin is only 3-2 in the Big Ten, but the Badgers have won all three home games, and the losses were at Illinois and in overtime against Michigan State.  The Badgers are what they have been under Bo Ryan.  Wisconsin is literally the slowest-paced team in the country, #345, at 58.9 possessions per game.  Wisconsin takes very good care of the ball, ranking #1 in the nation in offensive turnover percentage.  They lead the nation in free throw percentage and have been very good on the boards at both ends of the court.  They block plenty of shots and are holding the opposition to 40 percent shooting from two point range.

Here are the Badgers' individual stats.  

FG 3PT FT Rebounds Misc
G M M A Pct M A Pct M A Pct Off Def Tot Ast TO Stl Blk PF PPG
Jon Leuer 16 33.3 6.6 13.9 47.3 2.3 4.9 46.8 3.3 4.1 81.5 1.7 5.6 7.3 2.1 1.6 0.7 1.5 1.8 18.8
Jordan Taylor 16 35.1 5.4 12.2 44.1 1.9 4.9 39.7 4.0 4.6 86.5 0.9 3.4 4.3 4.7 1.2 0.9 0.2 2.3 16.7
Keaton Nankivil 16 24.1 3.4 6.2 54.5 1.4 2.8 52.3 0.8 0.8 92.3 1.9 2.7 4.6 0.8 1.1 0.8 1.5 1.8 8.9
Josh Gasser 16 24.7 1.9 4.7 40.0 0.4 2.1 18.2 1.4 1.6 88.5 1.4 2.2 3.6 2.2 0.8 0.5 0.1 2.1 5.6
Mike Bruesewitz 16 21.3 1.9 3.9 47.6 0.6 1.9 33.3 0.6 0.9 66.7 1.5 1.4 2.9 1.1 0.8 0.3 0.2 1.7 5.0
Tim Jarmusz 16 21.9 1.3 3.3 38.5 1.1 2.9 37.0 0.4 0.6 77.8 0.6 1.3 1.9 1.3 0.1 0.6 0.0 0.7 4.0
Jared Berggren 14 9.1 1.5 2.5 60.0 0.4 0.8 45.5 0.4 0.6 66.7 0.6 1.1 1.7 0.5 0.9 0.1 0.4 1.4 3.8
Ryan Evans 16 12.4 1.1 3.7 30.5 0.0 0.2 0.0 1.0 1.3 76.2 0.8 2.1 2.8 0.8 1.1 0.1 0.4 1.2 3.3
Rob Wilson 14 9.5 1.0 2.4 41.2 0.1 0.8 9.1 0.4 0.4 83.3 0.4 0.9 1.4 0.6 0.4 0.1 0.0 0.8 2.4
Brett Valentyn 11 5.5 0.5 1.4 33.3 0.5 1.4 33.3 0.1 0.2 50.0 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.5 1.5
Ben Brust 10 3.9 0.3 1.3 23.1 0.1 0.7 14.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.0 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.4 0.7
Wquinton Smith 12 6.7 0.2 0.8 20.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.2 0.4 40.0 0.6 0.2 0.8 0.6 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.7 0.5
Duje Dukan 5 2.2 0.2 0.6 33.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.4 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.4
J.P. Gavinski 3 1.7 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.7 50.0 0.7 0.0 0.7 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.3
Dan Fahey 2 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
J.D. Wise 1 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0


John Leuer, now a senior, leads the way for Wisconsin.  I wonder if a 6-10 forward who shoots nearly 50 percent from the field will be any sort of a matchup problem for IU.  Jordan Taylor is the Badgers' only other double-figure scorer, and he leads them in assists, with 4.7, as well.  Keaton Nankivil is another problem, a 6-8 guy who shoots over 50 percent from the field.  The Badgers have their usual solid supporting cast.

Wisconsin has become one of the most formidable programs in the Big Ten over the last decade, and they have been a particularly tough opponent for IU.  In the previous two seasons, the closest IU has come to Wisconsin is 17 points.  Tonight's game is a tall order, and I hate to ever settle for anything other than a win, but a competitive game would be better than anything IU has shown the Badgers since 2008.

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