BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Badgers guard Kammron Taylor caught fire shooting the ball too little, too late in Wisconsin's 71-66 loss to Indiana Wednesday night.
Taylor, who had been struggling with his shot in recent games, hit some key shots late in the second half with the Badgers desperately needing a spark.
Down by as many as 10 points, the Badgers made an 8-0 run with less than 10 minutes left to play. Then, with about five minutes left to play, Taylor found his shooting touch, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game at 59-59.
"Those were important for us in making our run back, in getting us back in the game," said UW senior forward Alando Tucker of Taylor's clutch 3-point shooting. "He stepped up, he hadn't been hitting previous to that and he just caught fire."
In Wisconsin's last two games — versus Michigan and at Iowa — Taylor shot a combined 2-for-11. Wednesday, Taylor came out looking to end his shooting woes and did so rather quickly, hitting the first 3-pointer of the game.
"I'm not the type of person (that) if I'm not shooting well, I'm going to stop shooting, unless it's hurting the team," Taylor said. "I had to keep shooting to get out of it."
Taylor finished the first half with six points on 2-of-5 shooting — as well as four assists — but it was his clutch shooting that proved he might have snapped his recent shooting slump.
After his back-to-back 3-pointers around the five-minute mark, Taylor hit another 3 with 1:30 remaining to pull the Badgers within two points at 68-66.
However, it turned out Taylor found his shooting touch came just a little bit too late.
"It kind of came too late," Taylor said. "I got some good looks, and I just decided to take them. They were good for the time being, but it wasn't enough."
While Taylor felt hot shooting the ball, his shot wasn't perfect. Following the back-to-back 3-pointers, Taylor put up a quick 3-pointer on the next Wisconsin possession that clanked off the iron.
"As soon as it left my hands, it didn't feel as good as the other ones," Taylor said. "I think I might have rushed it a little bit, but it was a good look for me."
Difference-maker
Taylor said the difference in the game was plain and simple: "D.J. White, and their outside shooting."
White, Indiana's leading scorer, got his points (16), but it was definitely the Hoosiers' backcourt play that made the difference.
IU reserve junior guard A.J. Ratliff shot lights out — connecting on 7-of-9 shots, 4-of-6 from 3-point range, en route to a team-high 20-point performance.
"In the scouting report, we knew he was a scorer off the bench, but he just caught fire," Taylor said. "We knew he could do it, it was just too bad he did it against us."
Like Taylor, Ratliff did his damage in the second half, making six of his seven field goals after halftime. Yet Ratliff gives all the credit to his second-half scoring barrage to Hoosiers point guard Earl Calloway, who had four assists on the night.
"My teammates were looking for me more," Ratliff said. "I have to give credit to Earl because he was looking for me after I hit my first shot.
"All the credit goes to my teammates and I just shot it in."
Injury report
After falling to the floor on a traveling violation mid-way through the second half, Wisconsin's Tucker left the game with a scrap on his left elbow. Tucker later returned with tape on it and played the remainder of the game.
UW sophomore forward Joe Krabbenhoft, however, had a much more serious injury.
After snatching up a loose rebound, Krabbenhoft came out of a Hoosiers' pile with a bump and some blood on his head. The officials called an injury time-out and Krabbenhoft headed to the bench for treatment from trainer Henry Perez-Guerra.
While Krabbenhoft later returned, his departure hurt the Badgers' late run.
"For him to leave at that moment was crucial for us because he was doing a lot for us — getting some key rebounds, key stops and making a couple of good shots for us down the stretch," Tucker said of Krabbenhoft.
Both Tucker and Krabbenhoft were fine after the game.
