FINAL: Wisconsin 68, IU 56

The IU men’s basketball senior class has amassed many accomplishments during their four-year Hoosier careers, but after Saturday’s 68-56 loss to Wisconsin in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament, seniors Jordan Hulls, Christian Watford and Derek Elston lack a win over the Badgers on their resumes.

The Hoosiers have now lost 12-straight to Wisconsin after Saturday’s loss, including eight during the seniors’ era.

Wisconsin started Saturday’s game off dominating the Hoosiers in the paint, scoring their first 18 points inside while giving sophomore forward Cody Zeller and Watford trouble down low.

Zeller managed to put up just four shots in the first half, making two of them and drawing fouls on Wisconsin’s big man Jared Berggren on his misses.

Zeller was just 2-of-4 at the line in those trips, though.

But the two fouls sent Berggren to the bench with 7:55 left in the first half, and he remained there for the rest of the half, while IU held a 22-16 lead.

With their big man out, the Badgers turned to outside shooting from beyond the arc for the rest of the half to gain momentum and build as high as an eight-point lead with the help of a 10-0 run.

Wisconsin’s Ben Brust hit a 3-pointer with 6:24 left in the half to take the lead at 23-22, and then Mike Bruesewitz followed with one of his own to cap off the 10-point surge.

Zeller managed a tough layup inside to stop the bleeding for a moment, but George Marshall followed with the first of his two 3-pointers.

Zeller and junior guard Victor Oladipo grabbed a few late buckets, and Watford hit a fade-away 3-pointer from the left wing, while trying to draw a foul to no avail, to pull the Hoosiers within just three points to close the half.

But after the Hoosiers pulled within three points at half, the Badgers began the second half on a 6-0 run to force IU Coach Tom Crean into an early timeout just three minutes into the second half.

Out of the timeout, though, the Hoosiers seemed fired up. Freshman guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell made an off-hand layup off an assist from Oladipo, and Zeller threw down a dunk over Bruesewitz, while drawing the foul.

With a Zeller tip-in off a miss from junior forward Will Sheehey, followed by another Ferrell layup, IU had tied it up at 40 points apiece.

IU grabbed a very brief lead off a free throw form sophomore guard Remy Abell, but Brust hit another 3-pointer to take it right back.

Wisconsin’s Sam Dekker went on a seven-point run of his own just minutes later, started with a layup and and-one opportunity where he missed the free throw but wound up with a 3-pointer right after off a Wisconsin offensive rebound.

As the Hoosiers clawed back, IU was able to get within a single possession multiple times but could never muster a strong enough run.

The Badgers ended the game on an 18-7 run to clinch the upset of the No. 1-seeded Hoosiers.

-Nathan Brown