[media-credit name=’JEFF SCHORFHEIDE/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. ? Live by the three, die by the three.
Against Indiana, it was doing the former that lifted Wisconsin to a victory.

The Hoosiers opened the game in a 2-3 zone defense Wednesday,
clamping down on the Badgers post players but freeing up guards along the
3-point line.

?They could?ve stayed in that zone the whole game; that?s
their choice,? Badger coach Bo Ryan said. ?We just find ways to attack it.?

Though UW missed its first six shots of the game, an
offensive rhythm was eventually established, especially from behind the arc.

?We just probed and started finding some things,? Ryan said.
?Other than one shot, I think those were wide-open threes.?

By the time Indiana finally switched out of the zone halfway
through the half, Wisconsin had hit four threes and was right in the ballgame,
despite an otherwise poor shooting effort.

?If we stay in a zone, a kid like Bohannon may hit you for
six or seven threes,? Hoosier coach Kelvin Sampson said.

Bohannon ended up doing just that, hitting six threes for
the game while leading Wisconsin in scoring with a season-high 18-point effort.

?We lost him a couple of times on switches,? Sampson said of
Bohannon. ?We over-helped in the paint on penetration and their guards do a
great job of kick-outs.?

Seven of Wisconsin?s first eight made field-goals were
3-pointers, and on the strength of its eight 3-pointers, Wisconsin trailed only
by one at the break, despite shooting an abysmal 5-15 from inside the arc.

Of Wisconsin?s first-half threes, four came from Bohannon
and there were more courtesy of guard Michael Flowers. UW had 24 of its 36
first-half points come by way of the long ball.

?A lot of it was just teammates making plays and getting me
the ball when I was open,? Bohannon said. ?They drove the lane and collapsed a
lot of times, and that left me open in the corner or in the lane.?

?There was a lot of good looks; a lot of it had to do with
guys setting picks on the inside.?

Twenty minutes into the game, it seemed nothing could rattle
Bohannon. Even after the crowd got on him after airballing a three early on,
the sophomore was not fazed, knocking down treys on his next two trips down the
court.

?He was booed at Iowa; it doesn?t mean anything,? Ryan said.
?If you?re wondering, how huge was it? It was huge. But for [Bohannon] to do
it, it doesn?t surprise us.?

When the second half rolled around, however, Wisconsin
couldn?t keep up the pace.

Sampson switched up IU?s defense to pay more attention to
Bohannon and limit the looks the Badgers? other 3-point shooters were getting,
holding them to just 3-11 shooting.

?We did a great job on [Bohannon] in the second half,?
Sampson said. ?One of the things we did in the second half is not switch.?

Hoosier guard Andre Basset drew Bohannon as an assignment
for the bulk of the second half and limited him to just two made 3-pointers.

??He was just
chasing me everywhere and was trying to deny me the ball,? Bohannon said.

With the Indiana defense more focused on him and the
perimeter, Bohannon was free to help Wisconsin get the ball back in the post.

?I was just trying to make some curl cuts and open some
other guys up. I got Brian (Butch) open a couple of times and same with Marcus
(Landry).?

After a first half that saw two-thirds of its points come
from the 3-point range, Wisconsin relied considerably less on the three-ball in
the second half. Though they only scored eight points in the paint before the
break, the Badgers ? with the Hoosiers more focused on the long ball ? were
able to get back to their strengths, scoring 18 of their 32 second-half points
from the inside.

Of course, UW had one more three left in it ? Brian Butch?s
game-winning bank shot with five seconds left.

?It was great, it was a great team victory for us,? Bohannon
said. ?That was a really big game for us to win tonight.?