The last time the University of Wisconsin saw Indiana on the opposite sideline, center Kel’el Ware was wearing street clothes and a walking boot. The Badgers weren’t nearly as fortunate in the rematch.

The Badgers appeared powerless against the Hoosiers sophomore, who was a dominant force on both ends of the court and a key catalyst in leading Indiana to a 74-70 victory at Assembly Hall.

Finishing with 27 points, 11 rebounds, and five blocks, Ware helped the Hoosiers (15-13, 7-10 Big Ten) shoot 61.7 percent and close the game on a 6-0 run.

Five players reached double figures for the Badgers (18-10, 10-7), which dropped into a tie with Nebraska for fourth place in the conference and were officially eliminated from having a chance to win a piece of the Big Ten regular season title.

It’s a stunning fall, considering the Badgers began the month in a tie for first place but ended up going 2-6 in February, including dropping all five road games. It’s the longest stretch of road futility since losing seven straight from Dec.6, 2017, to February 4, 2018. Three of those defeats have come against the bottom four schools in the league.

Chucky Hepburn’s 15 points, seven rebounds, six assists, two steals, and no turnovers led UW, which shot 43.5 percent from the floor but went only 2-for-3 from the free throw line.

Ware scored 20 of his points in the opening half, making his first eight shots from the field as Indiana raced out to a 15-point lead. Ranking 12th in the conference in scoring offense, the Hoosiers averaged 1.3 points per possession to build a five-point halftime lead.

Play was stopped with the score tied at 54 and 10:06 remaining when a fire alarm in the arena went off, prompting a full evacuation of the building. The halt in play came as Wisconsin was executing a 12-4 run to force a tie since the game was scoreless.

The game resumed after nearly a 20-minute delay, but the Badgers kept pushing, scoring seven points on the next three possessions to take a three-point lead.

Neither team led by more than one possession after the 11-minute mark, but Malik Reneau (14 points, 8 rebounds) layup with 55 seconds left put the Hoosiers up 72-70.

UW’s next possession came up empty, as Storr’s three-point attempt went off the side rim and Galloway boxed out Tyler Wahl from getting the rebound before the ball hit the baseline.

Indiana entered as the worst free-throw shooting team in the Big Ten (65.3 percent) but the Hoosiers broke UW’s ensuing press and got the ball to Mackenzie Mgbako, their best free-throw shooter at 80.4 percent. He sank both attempts. UW finally four shots came up empty.

What it means: It may go down as a Quad-2 loss, but this is a bad loss for Wisconsin against a bad Indiana team. Unfortunately for the Badgers, they are piling up these ugly performances on the road at the wrong time of the season.

Star of the game: Ware was a mismatch no matter who Wisconsin put on him. He was credited with only five blocks, but the number of shots he altered in the lane that led to empty possessions – including Wahl’s in the closing minute – doesn’t go unnoticed.

Stat of the game: Wisconsin didn’t attempt a free throw in the second half.

Reason to be Concerned: The Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament aren’t being played at the Kohl Center, which means the Badgers must figure out how to win away from home. Otherwise, their season is going to be incredibly short.

Don’t overlook: Wisconsin attempted 22 more shots than Indiana but only scored two more second-chance points than the Hoosiers did.

What’s next: Wisconsin enters its final homestand by hosting No.13 Illinois on Saturday afternoon at the Kohl Center (12 p.m./BTN). The only Big Ten team the Badgers haven’t faced yet, the Illini (20-7, 11-5) sit 1.5 games ahead of UW. Guard Terrence Shannon Jr. has been terrific in leading the Illini in scoring (21.6 ppg), but Illinois has other options with forward Marcus Domask (15.4 ppg) and Coleman Hawkins (13.0), who scored a career-high 30 points in Saturday’s win over Iowa.

UW won 15 straight games against Illinois from January 2011 to February 2019, but the Illini have won six straight, including the last three by double figures.

_________________________________________________

*Chat about this article in The Badgers' Den

*Check out our videos, interviews, and Q&As on our YouTube channel

*Subscribe and listen to the BadgerBlitz.com podcast (as seen on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts)

*Follow us on Twitter: @McNamaraRivals, @TheBadgerNation, @RaulV45, @seamus_rohrer, @DonnieSlusher_

*Like us on Facebook