For the past two decades, the Kohl Center has been a house of horrors for IU.
The last time the Hoosiers won in Wisconsin, Bob Knight was still the head coach and the arena hadn’t even been open for a full season.
Tuesday, those struggles continued for IU as Wisconsin defeated the Hoosiers 71-61 behind a strong second half as IU lost its 16th consecutive game at Wisconsin.
Once again against IU, Wisconsin junior forward Ethan Happ dominated the game with the Hoosiers having no answers for the big man.
Happ got IU’s frontcourt in foul trouble early in the game and his play in the second half helped the Badgers pull away. Finishing two rebounds short of a double-double, Happ had 28 points and six offensive rebounds.
IU came out of the gates strong and got out to a seven-point lead just over midway through the first half. The Hoosiers shot the ball effectively in the opening period but couldn’t extend the lead beyond three heading into halftime.
IU’s senior leadership had a strong first half with guards Robert Johnson and Josh Newkirk combining for 25 points and forward Collin Hartman having 13 points of his own before the break.
After halftime, it was all Badgers.
Wisconsin went on a quick 7-0 run in less than a two-minute period early in the second half that pushed the lead out to a number IU wouldn’t shrink.
In the second half, it wasn’t just Happ who IU couldn’t stop. Wisconsin’s freshman guard Brad Davison was thrust into playing the entire second half due to attrition in the Badgers’ backcourt, had 14 points along with three rebounds and one assist.
IU’s offense fell off in the second half as the Hoosiers only shot just over 40-percent from the field and only made one 3-pointer.
Junior forward Juwan Morgan whose minutes had been hampered due to foul trouble in the first half, was IU’s only player to score in double digits in the second half. Morgan had 15 points in the second half.
IU is now 8-7 overall and 1-2 in conference play.
Andrew Hussey
