BLOOMINGTON, Ind.–The Wisconsin Badgers (21-6, 12-4) ended the
2003-04 season with a bang Saturday, spoiling senior day at
Assembly Hall with a 70-52 victory over the Indiana Hoosiers
(13-14, 7-9).

Point guard Devin Harris led the way with 26 points on eight of
13 shooting, as the Badgers posted their most lopsided win over the
Hoosiers since 1947.

“That’s what happens when you play the way they play: you win
basketball games,” Indiana head coach Mike Davis said of
Wisconsin.

The Hoosiers were hot to begin the game, jumping out to an 8-3
advantage five minutes into play. Then the Badgers made their move.
After a three-point field goal by IU’s A.J. Moye, UW reeled off a
10-1 run.

After eight straight points by Harris, sophomore Ray Nixon
capped the run with a lay in, giving Wisconsin a 19-12 edge with
9:08 remaining in the half.

“I’m very proud of the way the guys responded,” Harris said.
“We’re getting the ball inside, we’re doing the things the coaches
want us to do and they’re showing in the victories.”

The Hoosiers responded with back-to-back baskets, but the
Badgers came back with another run, outscoring Indiana 14-2 in the
final 7:30 of the half and went into the locker room with a 33-18
advantage.

“We make runs, then we relax and boom, layup, three-point play.
Boom, give up a three,” Moye said. “It’s like we forget what’s
going on.”

Wisconsin led comfortably for much of the second half before
Indiana made one last push. Trailing 46-30, IU went on a 7-0 run on
the strength of consecutive three-pointers from Marshall
Strickland, cutting the UW advantage to nine points with 8:40
remaining.

“You can’t over react to a deep three or a tough three,”
Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan said. “We were in their faces. They
hit some tough shots in that stretch.”

But again, Wisconsin had an answer. Harris silenced the crowd
with a deep ball of his own from the left wing.

“Devin came down and hit a huge shot to put it back up to 12,”
Badger forward Zach Morley said. “Then we knew we had to stay
patient. We couldn’t let their crowd bother us. We just had to stay
calm and keep running the swing and good things would happen for
us.”

The Hoosiers would twice more trim the lead to nine, but no
more.

“In that stretch we countered with some points of our own,” Ryan
said. “We didn’t let it get to five. We didn’t let it get to six or
seven.”

UW opened the game up in the final six minutes, leading by as
many as 19 before winning by 18.

In addition to his game-high 26 points, Harris also pulled down
four rebounds. Mike Wilkinson added 13 points and six assists to
the Wisconsin cause. As a team, UW outscored IU 28-16 in the
paint.

“We did a good job of getting the ball inside,” Wilkinson said.
“Whether we finished or kicked it out, we got open looks all day
from both ends. We got to the free throw line and knocked down some
free throws, that’s big for us.”

The Badgers got a lift off the bench from Morley, who tallied 11
points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes of action.

“The haircut made all the difference in the world,” Ryan joked.
“He’s lighter on his feet and sees more. He’s the man.”

Nine of Morley?s 11 points and six of his eight rebounds came in
the second half.

“I just think there guys were creating a lot more stuff for
everybody,” Morley said of his second half success. “They’d
penetrate and kick or make the extra pass, and it just happened to
free people up.”

Moye led Indiana with 11 points and nine rebounds while fellow
senior George Leach scored 10 points and pulled down eight boards.
The loss marked the final home game at Assembly Hall for Moye,
Leach and Jason Stewart.

Leading scorer Bracey Wright’s struggles against Wisconsin
continued. After scoring just seven points and shooting 2-15 in the
Badgers’ 79-45 win in Madison Jan. 6, the Hoosier star was held to
eight points Saturday. Wright made just four of his 16 field goal
attempts and missed all eight tries from behind the three-point
arch.

“Our guards did a good job of chasing him and staying right on
his butt coming off screens,” Wilkinson said. “Then our big guys
did a good job of hedging.”

Wisconsin finishes the Big Ten season with 12 wins, the same
number they accumulated a year ago.

“There isn’t anyone in the country that wouldn’t take that and
do cartwheels,” Ryan said.

Ryan believes his team made a statement as they gear up for the
Big Ten Tournament at week’s end.

“It says that our guys are pretty tough, they’re gritty,” Ryan
said. “They handled the aggression, that atmosphere and everything
else. They found a way to get it done.”