Column: On with the Madness

On to Selection Sunday.

The Hoosiers ran into one of two Big Ten teams it has not beaten this season and lost in a way nobody expected, as IU fell 79-71 against Wisconsin.

It concludes a Big Ten Tournament in which IU lost a senior leader and picked up a win against Penn State that will hardly be a blip on their NCAA Tournament resume.

So much for home, sweet home.

IU Coach Tom Crean’s team leaves Indianapolis having lost much more than it gained.

But an adage comes to mind, an adage that junior guard Jordan Hulls has said enough times this season to rival his made free throws total.

“One game at a time.”

The Hoosiers aren’t looking back.

In the past three years, this loss would have marked the end of the season. But there’s still basketball to be played, and IU still has basketball left in them.

Wisconsin senior guard Rob Wilson just lit up the Hoosiers for 30 points on 11-16 shooting from the field and 7-of-10 shooting from long range. Some of those baskets were wide open, some were not.

“That wasn’t luck,” Wisconsin Coach Bo Ryan said. “He was open.”

A lot of Badgers must have been open, as Wisconsin shot 13-of-26 from beyond the arc, including 54.5 percent from three in the second half.

Lesson: Close out on shooters more quickly and don’t allow one player to single-handedly destroy your zone from the perimeter. Oh, and if possible, make sure an opposing player who averages 3.1 points per game doesn’t sell his soul to hit the same amount of 3-pointers against you, that he accumulated his sophomore year.

“We played hard,” freshman guard Jordan Hulls said. “But we have to play a lot smarter.”

Use this shortcoming to learn and move on.

There’s a reason Wisconsin is the only Big Ten team IU has gone 0-2 against this season.

Jared Berggren, Wisconsin’s physical 6-foot-11, 230-pound forward limited IU freshman forward to seven points and three rebounds in the Hoosiers’ loss in Madison. Friday, Zeller tied a team-high with 17 points, but grabbed a single rebound, while Berggren countered with 16 points and nine boards.

Lesson: Your leading scorer does not matchup well with the Badgers, hope that a rematch with Wisconsin does not happen in the NCAA Tournament and move on.

An encouraging sign for the Hoosiers that had to somehow find its way into this column was the play of freshman guard Remy Abell.

Without IU senior guard Verdell Jones, who is lost for the year with an ACL tear suffered Thursday against Penn State, Abell needed to step forward as the Hoosiers new, first guard option off the bench. Friday, he played 15 minutes with no turnovers, shot 2-of-3 from the field and grabbed a pair of rebounds.

Jones’ absence prompted Hulls to recite another adage that he said the team has used all season, “next man up.”

It’s about adapting to the circumstances, no matter how big or small the adversity is.

Next up for the Hoosiers is the NCAA Tournament.

On Sunday, Crean and his team will learn where they are destined to play in the first round of the Big Dance.

“You have to earn your way in that door,” Crean said. “That is a tough door to get in. The room gets a little smaller once you get in, and that’s where you don’t want to beat yourself.”

It’s time to look toward the ultimate goal.

IU still doesn’t have a Big Ten Tournament Title, but I don’ think Assembly Hall would hang individual banners for those.

The Wisconsin loss is in the past.