Consistent Badgers pose challenge for Hoosiers

The Wisconsin Badgers are predictable. 

Since 2001, when Bo Ryan took over the program, the Badgers have possessed one of the most recognizable styles of play in the country with their slow-it-down, slug-it-out defensive mentality.

The style has been conducive to winning and defense.

Over the past five seasons, Wisconsin has held its opponents to an average of 59 points per game while racking up 26 wins per season.

The Badgers (16-9, 7-6) are efficient. They almost never commit self-inflicted mistakes, something the youthful Hoosiers (6-18, 1-11) have struggled with this season. 

Loaded with size and strength, Wisconsin tries to play a half-court game. Like a high school team taking advantage of a lack of shot clock, Ryan’s team tries to limit its opponent’s possessions as much as possible.

And it works.

While teams shoot 43.8 percent from the field against Wisconsin, the second-highest percentage in the conference behind IU, the Badgers have only surrendered 1,238 field goal attempts to their opponents, the second fewest in the Big Ten. 

Wisconsin essentially plays “keep away” by limiting fouls and turnovers and prohibiting the other team from snagging rebounds or getting off extra shots – in other words, by minimizing mental mistakes.

The team also commits only 15.7 fouls per game, the 24th best average in the nation.
When it comes to turnovers, the team is even better. While the Hoosiers come in 326th in the nation with 18.3 turnovers per game, the Badgers are fifth, barely turning over the ball 10 times per game. 

Tonight will mark the eighth time senior forward Kyle Taber will have faced the Badgers as a member of the men’s basketball team. Since 2004, when he redshirted and sat out the season with a knee injury, Taber said the Badgers haven’t changed much, if at all.
“They do a good job of attacking the offensive glass and really playing their pace,” Taber said. 

Crean, who coached against Wisconsin annually while he was at Marquette, agreed with Taber, calling the Badgers “a very typical Wisconsin team.”

Over the past few years, few teams in the Big Ten have been as good as the Badgers when it comes to keeping opponents off the glass. This year, Wisconsin leads the Big Ten in the category once again, surrendering only 28.3 rebounds per game.

While he’d “love” to see his team run against a walk-it-up team like Wisconsin, Crean said his emphasis will be elsewhere.

“We’re going to try and not turn it over, so whatever that means,” he said.

Calling some of his team’s unforced turnovers this season “ridiculous,” Crean praised Wisconsin’s ability to take care of the ball and attributed its success to good spacing and very defined rules.

Crean and several IU players said they’ve spent a large chunk of the week preaching ball control.

With junior guard Devan Dumes returning from a suspension, the team’s offense should be more talented, but the stress of shot selection is at a premium.

After suffering six consecutive losses in January, the Badgers have now won four straight. During the team’s winning streak, Wisconsin has held teams to an average of 49 points per game.

Taber said predicting what Wisconsin will do today isn’t the hard part – stopping them is.

“You can expect every time a shot goes up, their block-outs will be pretty physical,” he said. “If you go up for a layup, they aren’t going to give you one. You can expect it to be a physical game.”