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    IU basketball game day essentials: Indiana travels to No. 21 Wisconsin

    Owen GrahamBy IU Basketball 18 Comments

    Game Day Essentials:

    Indiana (14-8, 5-6) vs. No. 21 Wisconsin (17-5, 7-4)

    • Tip Time: 9 p.m. Eastern, Tuesday
    • Location: Kohl Center (16,838), Madison, Wis.
    • Television: Peacock (Noah Eagle, Robbie Hummel)
    • Radio: IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, John Herrick)
    • Stream: Peacock
    • Point Spread:  Wisconsin is a 9.5-point favorite
    • KenPom Projected Score:  Wisconsin 82 Indiana 72
    • History: Indiana leads, 98-81.
    • Last Meeting: IU 74, WIS 70 on Feb. 27, 2024, in Bloomington
    • Tickets (via our StubHub affiliate link)

    Wisconsin’s Greg Gard

    Greg Gard is in his 10th season as head coach of Wisconsin. Across those seasons, he has compiled a 202-111 overall record.

    Gard began his coaching career at the high school level before getting his first assistant job at at his alma mater, Wisconsin-Platteville. After six seasons, he then moved to an assistant position at Wisconsin-Milwaukee before getting hired onto Wisconsin’s staff after two seasons there.

    Gard coached under Bo Ryan for over 14 years before Ryan announced his retirement in the middle of the 2015-16 season. Gard would be named the interim head coach for the rest of the year, and compiled a 15-8 record and a third place finish in the Big Ten. Following the season, Gard would be named the head coach of the program moving forward.

    Since his interim year, Gard has kept Wisconsin as a consistently solid program in the Big Ten. In nine full seasons, the Badgers have compiled 20 wins or more in seven of them, and have made six NCAA Tournament appearances. Gard has also won regular season titles in the Big Ten twice: once during the 2019-20 season and the 2021-22 season. Gard was named Big Ten Coach of the Year in both seasons.

    Wisconsin’s results and roster:

    DATE OPPONENT LOCATION RESULT
    11/4/2024 Holy Cross Madison, Wis. W 85-61
    11/7/2024 Montana State Madison, Wis. W 79-67
    11/10/2024 Appalachian State Madison, Wis. W 87-56
    11/15/2024 No. 9 Arizona Madison, Wis.  W 103-88
    11/18/2024 UT Rio Grande Valley Madison, Wis. W 87-84
    11/22/2024 vs. UCF (Greenbrier Tip-Off) The Greenbrier, W. Va. W 86-70
    11/24/2024 vs. Pitt (Greenbrier Tip-Off) The Greenbrier, W. Va. W 81-75
    11/30/2024 Chicago State Madison, Wis. W 74-53
    12/3/2024 Michigan Madison, Wis. L 64-67
    12/7/2024 at No. 5 Marquette Milwaukee, Wis. L 74-88
    12/10/2024 at No. 19 Illinois Champaign, Ill. L 80-86
    12/14/2024 vs. Butler (Indiana Classic) Indianapolis, Ind. W 83-74
    12/22/2024 Detroit Mercy Madison, Wis. W 76-53
    1/3/2025 Iowa Madison, Wis. W 116-85
    1/6/2025 at Rutgers Piscataway, N.J. W 75-63
    1/10/2025 Minnesota Madison, Wis. W 80-59
    1/14/2025 Ohio State Madison, Wis. W 70-68
    1/18/2025 at USC Los Angeles, Calif. W 84-69
    1/21/2025 at UCLA Los Angeles, Calif. L 83-85
    1/26/2025 Nebraska Madison, Wis. W 83-55
    1/29/2025 at Maryland College Park, Md. L 68-76
    2/1/2025 Northwestern Evanston, Ill. W 75-69

    Wisconsin’s game notes (Via Wisconsin Athletics)

    FAST BREAK FACTS

    • Wisconsin has won 20 consecutive home games against Indiana, the longest-ever home win streak vs. the Hoosiers. Overall, the Badgers have won 24 of the last 29 against the Hoosiers.
    • Wisconsin sits at No. 21 in the AP poll, 14 in KenPom and 16 in the NET.
    • UW is 10-5 in Quad 1/2 games with 6 Quad 1 wins and zero losses outside of Quad 1.
    • 17-5 is the third-best start under Greg Gard, trailing 2016-17 (19-3) and 2021-22 (18-4)

    BUILDING THE BADGERS OFFENSE 

    • Wisconsin is averaging 81.5 points per game, which would rank 5th in UW history and the highest since the school-record 86.3 ppg in 1970-71.
    • UW has multiple 100-point games this season for the first time since 1995-96 and 13 with 80+ for the first time since 1970-71 (13).
    • Wisconsin ranks 7th in the nation in offensive efficiency per KenPom. UW’s mark of 123.3 would rank as the school’s 2nd-highest mark in the KenPom era (1997).

    TONJE’S ON A TEAR

    Wisconsin has had 17 First-Team All-Big Ten selection since 2002 (most in the conference) and John Tonje is positioning himself to be the latest.

    • A graduate student, Tonje is a catalyst for one of the nation’s best offenses, ranking 4th in the Big Ten averaging 18.6 ppg and scores at all 3 levels.
    • Tonje is shooting 52.0% on 2FGs, 41.5% on 3FGs and 92.9% at the free throw line.
    • Tonje ranks 3rd in the Big Ten, shooting 45.6% from 3-point range during conference play. He is also second on the B1G averaging 2.8 3FGs per game during league action.
    • The 6-foot-5 guard has been nearly perfect at the free throw line, leading the Big Ten and ranking 7th in the NCAA shooting 92.9% FT (131-for-141).

    BLACKWELL, GROUNDSWELL

    • Sophomore John Blackwell is emerging as one of the Big Ten’s most well-rounded players, ranking 2nd on the Badgers in points (15.5 ppg), 4th in rebounds (4.5 rpg) and 3rd in assists (2.2 apg). Those averages rise to 16.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg and 2.0 apg during Big Ten play.
    • During the month of January, Blackwell averaged 18.9 ppg, recording 3 games of 20+ points.
    • The Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, native has tallied 6 games with 20+ points, including 4 of the last 9 games. He averaged 25.5 ppg in UW’s games at USC and UCLA.
    • Blackwell also owns a trio of games with 28+ points: a career-high 32 points (6-10 3FGs) vs. Iowa, 30 vs. UTRGV and 28 at USC.

    Wisconsin’s KenPom notable numbers:

    (out of 364 teams)

    Tempo – No. 165 (Offense No. 182 / Defense No. 132)

    Offensive Efficiency – No. 7

    • The Badgers boast one of the hottest offenses. They shoot a 55.1% effective field goal percentage (No. 34). They shoot 36.3% from three and 55.7% from two as a team (No. 63, No. 45).
    • Wisconsin leads the nation in team free throw percentage at 84.6%.
    • They score a 37% of their total points distribution on threes (No. 58) and have a 47.6% attempt rate (No. 20).
    • They take care of the ball well with a 14.9% turnover percentage (No. 32)
    • The Badgers aren’t a major threat on the offensive glass, with just a 28.6% offensive rebounding rate (No. 227)

    Defensive Efficiency – No. 47

    • The Badgers are holding opponents to a 47.8% effective field goal percentage (No. 65). Teams are shooting 32.6% from three (No. 125) and 47.2% from twos (No. 53).
    • They don’t generate a lot of turnovers, with only a 15.2% rate (No. 312). They have a low steal and block rate as well, with both at No. 338 in the country.
    • Opponents are not getting a high rate of offensive rebounds with a 27% rate, No. 52.

    OG’s Pick:

    Win/Loss Record: 16-3

    No pick on the last one, but got the Maryland right. You may be starting to hate me by now.

    Either way, another tough one for Indiana to win up in Madison tonight. The Badgers have a really good offense that can burn you at any time. You have to take note of that performance against Iowa, where Wisconsin went 21-31 from beyond the arc and scored 116 points. On any given night they can burn you, so Indiana will have to lock up defensively to have a chance.

    Luckily for them, UW doesn’t boast a terribly daunting defense. They’re not going to bring tons of pressure, and they don’t force an abundance of turnovers. If Indiana can get things rolling, it may be closer than what the betting lines are suggesting.

    I’m still not comfortable picking the Hoosiers with a win here, but I am not putting it out of the equation. They looked solid at moments against Purdue, and when things click, they have the ability to steal one.

    PICK: Wisconsin 77 – Indiana 72

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