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    Sunday, February 8

    IU basketball: Wisconsin at Indiana — The Report Card

    Mike SchumannBy IU Basketball No Comments
    Photo credit - Indiana Athletics

    You take wins over Wisconsin any way you can get them.

    Indiana got off to a fast start, building a 7-0 lead, and then a 26-12 margin with 8:26 left in the first half.  Wisconsin got back to within four before halftime, but IU rebuilt the lead to 52-39 with 13:01. That’s when things started to get away from the Hoosiers, and Wisconsin went up 72-68 before Indiana salvaged the game in overtime.

    Let’s take a deeper look at how Indiana won 78-77 in Bloomington with our latest edition of The Report Card.

    The Hoosiers (16-8, 7-6) will return home Monday to host Oregon.

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    OFFENSE (B+)

    This performance was reasonably encouraging for Indiana.  The Hoosiers made just 5 of 22 threes but still managed to score 1.14 points per possession.  How’d they do it?

    Basically, everything else was on point.

    IU made 61% of its twos, only turned it over on 11.7% of possessions, they grabbed 11 offensive rebounds, and made 13 of 15 free throws.

    Wisconsin completely sold out on taking away the three-point arc.  Indiana’s 22 attempts from long range were a season low.  But that excess perimeter attention created opportunities.  Tucker DeVries, Sam Alexis, Lamar Wilkerson and Conor Enright combined to go 22 of 33 from two as they probed, rolled and posted for inside the arc opportunities.  At times, post feeds to Alexis were the best option.  It was an especially impressive effort since IU was without their best one-on-one driver, Tayton Conerway.

    It’s IU’s first win over a power conference opponent this season when making five-or-fewer 3-point field goals.

    Indiana’s offense did struggle down the stretch of regulation, however.  The Hoosiers didn’t make a shot from the field in the final 5:32, and that nearly allowed Wisconsin to pull away.

    DEFENSE (B+)

    Indiana showed significant improvement when it came to not fouling excessively, especially on shooters.  Wisconsin’s 16.9% free throw rate was a season low for Indiana against high major competition.  The Badgers got up just 12 attempts at the charity stripe.  IU played 45 minutes with no players reaching even a fourth foul.

    IU held the Badgers to 38 percent overall, and 33.3 percent from three.  The major downside to all those misses was 14 Wisconsin offensive rebounds, which resulted in 14 second chance points.  The silver lining:  Wisconsin had no offensive rebounds over the last 10 minutes of game action.

    IU is not a good shot blocking team, but led by Sam Alexis’ five, IU swatted away nine Wisconsin attempts.  That played a part in what was just a 15 of 35 (42.8%) day from 2-point range for the Badgers.

    Indiana held Nick Boyd and John Blackwell to their combined average of 38 points, and they needed 36 shots to get there.  Nolan Winter was a bigger problem with 26 points on 13 shots.  IU held Wisconsin’s top 3-point shooters in check, but Boyd and Winter went off script a bit and both had big days beyond the arc.  But the Hoosiers contained of Wisconsin’s roster.

    Wisconsin made just 1 of 4 shots in overtime and had a turnover.  In the end, the 1.13 points IU allowed was just low enough for a critical win.

    SEE ALSO:

    THE PLAYERS (*starters)

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    *Tucker DeVries (B+) DeVries played all 45 minutes and committed just two fouls.  He’s clearly worked out that part of his game.  He was an efficient scorer and got his 3-point shot going.  DeVries once again competed at a very high level on the glass.  He had eight rebounds for the game and is averaging 8.8 over his last five contests.

    *Lamar Wilkerson (A-) Clutch is the word to describe Wilkerson’s afternoon.  He made eight free throws and all of them came in the final six minutes including the game winner.  He added four rebounds and four assists, and only turned it over once despite handling the ball a lot.  Wilkerson continues to prove he can score on all three levels, and he’s defending respectably as well.

    *Sam Alexis (A) This was Alexis at his best, and IU needed all of it.  He was highly efficient (9 of 10) from the field, rebounded at a high rate and chased down blocks.  His motor was top notch.  And don’t underestimate Alexis’ foot speed.  He can stay in front of guards for a bit when Indiana is switching.

    *Conor Enright (A-) Enright continued his run of exceptional play on both ends of the floor.  His six assists to no turnovers jumps off the page.  He had a big hand in the defensive effort on Wisconsin’s highly talented guards.  He had several crafty finishes in the paint.  Enright rebounded, and drew a questionable charge in a critical moment that gave Wisconsin a taste of its own medicine.

    *Nick Dorn (C) Dorn had his second straight off shooting game after an electrifying run.  He has to find ways to have bigger impacts on games even when he’s not scoring.

    Jasai Miles (B) Miles gave IU key minutes.  In fact his 25 minutes were the most Miles has played all year.  He rebounded, played good defense and had good energy.  He seems to be gaining confidence making the right reads within the offense.

    Reed Bailey (D) Bailey wasn’t effective when he got his chances and played just 11 minutes.

    Trent Sisley played for four minutes.

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    Aleksa Ristic and Andrej Acimovic did not play — coaches decision.

    Tayton Conerway was out with an illness.  Jason Drake and Josh Harris were out with injuries.

    The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”

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