The No. 19 University of Wisconsin Men’s basketball team (19-9, 11-6 Big Ten) lost to the Indiana Hoosiers (14-14, 5-12), 75-73, in double overtime Tuesday.
In a game that proved to be a nail-biter from start to finish, the Badgers were unable to prevail after overcoming a 13-point deficit in the second half.
Wisconsin started hot, shooting 8-for-14, including 4-for-4 shooting in the paint from Ethan Happ.
The Badgers then went ice cold, missing 10 straight to bring their shooting to 8-for-24 overall and 1-for-8 from three at the eight-minute mark in the first half. The Badgers then held their own the rest of the half, as Indiana finished the first half ahead 33-29.
Senior Khalil Iverson was the star of the first half for Wisconsin, going 6-for-7 for 12 points, three rebounds, one assist and a steal. The rest of the Badgers combined to go just 7-for-26 for 17 points, including just 1-for-9 from three.
Indiana was led by sophomore Al Durham with nine points. Senior Juwan Morgan also added 10 rebounds and five points for the Hoosiers.
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The second half got off to a rough start for the Badgers, as they allowed Indiana to go up by as many as 13 before the offense was able to get going. After Wisconsin trailed 49-39 with nine minutes remaining in the half, the Badgers went on a 15-1 run to take a 54-50 lead with just over six minutes to go in the game.
The Badgers fought back behind their timely three-point shooting, going 4-for-5 during their run after starting the game 1-for-12 as a team.
Wisconsin and Indiana stayed close throughout the remainder of the second half.
With 5.3 seconds to play in regulation, sophomore guard D’Mitrik Trice sunk two clutch free throws to force overtime in Bloomington.
A few questionable calls got them there, including a Flagrant 1 call on what was clearly an unintentional elbow to the face of Juwan Morgan by senior Ethan Happ with 5:09 left, but the Badgers had to fight through this nonetheless.
After a hard-fought first overtime period, the Badgers and Hoosiers needed five more minutes and went into double overtime tied at 68 after Indiana missed yet another three-pointer at the buzzer.
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Double overtime was filled with more edge-of-your-seat magic, as Trice again converted late free throws to tie the game at 73 with 9 seconds left before Romeo Langford gave Indiana the lead for good, 75-73, with 0.7 seconds left.
An inbounds play from Brad Davison to Nate Reuvers was the last chance for some Badger magic, but the buzzer ran out before anything substantial could happen.
Wisconsin was led in scoring by Ethan Happ, who had 23 points to go along with 11 rebounds and four assists. Khalil Iverson also added 15 points and 3 rebounds in the loss. Sophomores Trice, Davison and Reuvers combined to shoot an abysmal 6-for-31, including just 3-for-17 from three.
Indiana’s leading players were freshman Romeo Langford, who had 22 points and 7 rebounds, as well as sophomore Justin Smith, who had 12 points and 6 rebounds.
Looking ahead, the Badgers will take on Penn State at the Kohl Center Saturday at noon. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network and broadcasted on the Badger Radio Network.
The Badgers will then close the season with home games against No. 22 Iowa and Ohio State before the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago.
