IU opens tourney with win

INDIANAPOLIS -- IU added another key victory to its NCAA Tournament resume Friday with a 61-56 defeat of Wisconsin. \nThe Hoosiers (18-10, 10-7 Big Ten) won the contest in the second half, scoring 46 of their 61 points on 64 percent shooting. Senior guard Marshall Strickland and senior forward Marco Killingsworth each put up 14 points in the final 20 minutes to help give IU its fifth straight win. Killingsworth finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Strickland had 16 points, five rebounds and four assists. \nAll this after a first period that saw IU score a season-low 15 points on 7-of-22 from the field and 1-of-10 from behind the arc. \n"We just talked about what we didn't do in the first half (at half time)," IU coach Mike Davis said. "Offensively we didn't make plays the way we were supposed to. It had nothing to do them, it was us." \nThe Badgers (19-11, 9-8) led 19-15 but put up an equally dismal performance in the first 20 minutes, despite leading 19-15 at half. Wisconsin missed all nine of its three-point attempts and shot 25 percent from the field. \nIn the first half, the Badgers were mostly without All-Big Ten first teamer Alando Tucker, who scored only four of his 20 points in the first period. Tucker up his second foul at the 11:22 mark and played only nine of the first 20 minutes. \nThe Wisconsin backcourt scored only one point in his absence and accounted for 12 on the night. \n"I think their guards were kind of passive and wanted Tucker to take over the game," Strickland said. \nThe Hoosiers started off on a 10-2, but the Badgers responded with a 15-0 to take the score 17-10. A Brian Butch lay-up and a 3-pointer from junior Rod Wilmont made for 19-15 halftime ledger. \nTo start the second half, IU built up to a 30-24 lead and extended the advantage to nine twice. But Wisconsin countered with a 9-1 run to put itself on top 49-48. \nWith 6:48 remaining, a Michael Flowers layup gave The Badgers the lead at 49-48, but the Hoosiers responded with seven unanswered points to make for a 55-49 ledger. \nStrickland drew a charge from Flowers with 32 seconds remaining to seal the victory. \nAfter the game Davis said his players weren't rallying around his resignation. \n"These guys are emotional, they love me of course and I love them," Davis said. "The day I stepped down I said we'd do something special and I think we will. We have some good basketball ahead of us." \nThe Hoosiers play Ohio State at 4:05 p.m. Saturday in the semifinals.