STAT PACK: Down 22, No.22 Wisconsin Stuns Indiana, 64-59, in Big Ten Opener

MADISON, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin had come back twice from being down double digits before, but the Badgers were facing a 22-point deficit on a night where its offense was fleeting, and its defense was leaking.

It didn’t matter, not for a team that refuses to quit under any circumstances.

Delivering a second half for the ages, No.22 Wisconsin closed the game on an 11-0 run over the last 2:59 to stun Indiana, 64-59, in front of a raucous Kohl Center Wednesday.

Tied for the largest comeback in school history. this win was delivered on both ends of the court, with the Badgers (8-1, 1-0 Big Ten) getting points from seven different players in the second half and returning to their defensive-first principles.

Those things combined stunned Indiana (7-2, 1-1), which appeared ready to unleash 23 years of futility with a dominant first half. However, the Hoosiers massively collapsed down the stretch in missing 14 of their last 15 shots and scoring no points over the last 3:08.

We take a closer look at the game in the BadgerBlitz StatPack.

- Wisconsin has now won 19 straight games over the Hoosiers in Madison, spanning 23 years.

- Johnny Davis led all scorers with 23 points. He was the only Badger player in double figures, but senior Chris Vogt delivered nine points off the bench in the second half.

- Other UW scorers: Brad Davison (8), Tyler Wahl (7), Steven Crowl (5), Chucky Hepburn (4), Ben Carlson (3), Jordan Davis (3), and Carter Gilmore (2).

- Wahl delivered 12 rebounds and a huge defensive block on Indiana's Parker Stewart near the rim with 32 seconds left, protecting a two-point lead.

- UW was outrebounded 44-41, outscored 16-11 on second-chance points, and 30-22 on points in the paint, but the Badgers committed only four turnovers and turned Indiana’s nine miscues into 15 points.

- Wisconsin shot 35.5 percent for the game but held the Hoosiers to only 21.7 percent in the second half.

- Indiana got 12 points from Race Thompson and 10 from Xavier Johnson, who was 1-for-10 shooting in the second half. Trayce Jackson-Davis finished with nine points, scoring less than double figures for only the second time in the last 34 games.

- The Badgers closed the game on an 11-0 run over the last 2:59 and 16-2 over the last 5:50. Hoosiers missed 14 of their last 15 and their last seven shots.

- UW delivered the victory despite the bench being limited, as rotational guards Lorne Bowman and Jahcobi Neath, as well as reserve forward Markus Ilver, were out with a non-COVID sickness. UW's starters scored 80 of its 89 points in the victory over Marquette.

- Once trailing 5-0, Indiana caught fire with a 21-4 run, including seven points in 64 seconds, that put the Badgers on their heels. A lot of the damage came on pick-and-roll offense, allowing Indiana uncontested looks at the rim.

- Wisconsin was out of sync on both ends of the court in the first half. When UW was scoring, Indiana was matching or surpassing its point on total on the next trip down the floor. When UW went on one of its shooting droughts, making one field goal from 15:41 to 8:26, the Hoosiers built a 15-point lead. UW was 1-for-12 on that stretch.

- UW’s guard depth was tested when Hepburn picked up his second foul with 9:56 remaining. With Davis also getting a breather, the Badgers went with Jordan Davis, Carlson, Crowl, Davison, and Wahl. When the offense stayed stagnant, Gard put Hepburn back in but with little effect.

- Leading 42-25 at the break, the Hoosiers shot 54.8 percent compared to 31.3 percent for UW.

- Hepburn picked up his third foul just 41 seconds into the second half, forcing him to the bench and Jordan Davis to the floor.

- Wisconsin scored 10 points by the first media timeout of the second half but only chipped five points off the deficit because Indiana continued to get penetration into the lane and production at the rim.

- A home crowd aching to cheer was ignited when Jordan Davis hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to single digits for the first time since 12:24 in the first half and Carlson got UW to eight down with a free throw.

- Davison hit a huge 3-pointer that cut the lead to seven with 10:28 remaining, but the Badgers gave up a point off an offensive rebound on the ensuing possession and then had consecutive empty possessions to see the deficit swell back to 12.

- Slowly chipping away again, Vogt delivered low-post buckets on consecutive possessions to cut the lead to five. The senior went 4-for-6 from the field in the second half.

- Thompson delivered one of the biggest rebounds of the game when he cleaned up Johnson’s miss, taking the ball out of Wahl’s hands and laying the shot in to push the lead back to six with 3:08 remaining. Those would be the last points Indiana scored.

- UW drew fouls on its next two possessions that resulted in four free throws, but it was Davis’s 3-pointer from the corner with 1:18 remaining that put Wisconsin ahead for good.

- Following Wahl’s block, Hepburn iced the game with four free throws over the final 23.9 seconds.

- Wisconsin finishes its two-game Big Ten launch with a road contest at No.21 Ohio State Saturday. Tip is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT.

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