No. 8 Wisconsin (9-2, 3-1) vs. Indiana (7-4, 2-2)
Game: Thursday, Jan. 7 inside the Kohl Center; Madison, Wis.
Time: 6:00 p.m. CT
Watch: FS1 (Adam Amin and Stephen Bardo)
Listen: 1310 WIBA AM and 101.5 FM (Matt Lepay and Mike Lucas on the call); stream online on iHeartRadio
Follow Online: The Badgers' Den
Twitter: @Badger_Blitz
PRE-GAME NOTES
Following the postponement of its matchup with Penn State on Sunday, No. 6 Wisconsin is set to return to the floor for a matchup with Indiana. Prior to the season, the most recent memory of Badgers' basketball was a win at Assembly Hall with Big Ten trophy in hand.
After falling to 0-2 in conference play, Indiana has bounced back nicely and is coming off consecutive wins, most recently against Maryland. The Hoosiers overcame a six-point halftime deficit to win by eight over the Terrapins.
Trayce Jackson-Davis has once again been a force for Indiana. For the second straight season, Jackson-Davis is leading the team in scoring, rebounding and blocks, having bumped those numbers up to 20.3, 8.9 and 1.7, respectively.
Race Thompson has emerged this year to form a solid front court with Jackson-Davis. Through just 11 games, Thompson has already surpassed his season point total from a year ago. Thompson's most impressive outing came during the second game of the season, when he dropped a career-high 22 points in a win over Providence.
Indiana is coming off a nice win over Maryland but likely lost starting guard Armaan Franklin in the process. Franklin rolled his ankle and Archie Miller labeled the sophomore guard "doubtful" for the next two games. Alec Lasley over at TheHoosier.com called Franklin the team's best defender, best shooter and one of the few who can create his own shot. He had been averaging 18.8 points in the last five games prior to the injury.
For Wisconsin, the recent emergence of Aleem Ford, who has now finished in double figures in each of the last five games, gives the Badgers five starters who are averaging 10 points per game or better. Following a rough outing against Maryland, UW returned to its bread and butter and dominated the battle in the paint against Minnesota with 40 points coming from in close. It will be important for Wisconsin to once again dominate the battle inside against a solid Indiana front court.
Indiana leads the all-time series, 96-77, but it has been all Wisconsin in recent years. UW has won 21 of the last 24 matchups with victories in the last 17 meetings inside the Kohl Center.
