The Badgers clinched their second Big Ten road win of the season this evening, upsetting the Big Ten leader Indiana, 64-63, at Assembly Hall. The win was the first Badger victory at Indiana since a 66-64 decision Feb. 24, 1977. After tonight Wisconsin (15-11 overall, 8-5 Big Ten) sits at third in the Big Ten, while Indiana (16-8, 8-3) falls to second behind Ohio State.
The Badgers came at the Hoosiers from all angles with four players scoring in double-digits. Senior Charlie Wills led the team with 17 points thanks to 7-9 shooting from the field, including two three-pointers. The Indiana crowd was unable to distract freshman Devin Harris, as he gained 16 points for the Badgers. Rounding out Wisconsin’s top scorers were Mike Wilkinson with 13 and Kirk Penney with 10.
Much of the game belonged to the Badgers, including a majority of the second half. The Badgers entered the period with a five-point lead at 40-35, but the Hoosiers were not about to go down easily.
At the 17-minute mark, Wills landed a jumper that was followed by a Wilkinson steal, and a lay-up by Penney gave Wisconsin its highest lead of the half at 46-40. A few minutes later a three from Indiana’s Tom Coverdale cut the lead to one.
The Badgers missed their next three attempts, and another field goal by Coverdale gave the Hoosiers their first and only lead of the game (49-48) with 12:32 remaining.
The Badgers quickly took back the lead off a pair of Wilkinson free throws, and the Hoosiers were unable to regain control, but they tied the game twice in the process. Indiana, down by one, had a last chance to seal the victory with 1.9 seconds remaining, but a missed three-point attempt by Coverdale gave the win to Wisconsin.
The first half belonged to the Badgers, who never allowed Indiana to lead. They were on top by as many as eight points near the middle of the half.
Wisconsin shot 58.6 percent from the field, making five of eight three-point attempts. In the first half alone Harris and Wills both reached double-digits with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Wisconsin looks to get its third Big Ten win on the road this Saturday when they meet the Minnesota Gophers. Tip-off is at 1:31 p.m.