Coming off yet another heartbreaking defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Golden Gophers, the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team looks to finish off its season on a high note as it hosts the Indiana Hoosiers at the Kohl Center Sunday.
In Wednesday’s match against the Gophers, the Badgers climbed back from an early 11-point deficit to take a five-point lead late in the second half. But reminiscent of their six-game losing streak, the Badgers were unable to hold on to the lead, losing at The Barn, 51-46.
“The fact that we could come back — I don’t know if we had anything left, to be honest with you,” Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan said following the loss to Minnesota. “I’m not trying to make that excuse for my players, but at the end, the energy that it just took for us to get into the game and get some things going, I think it took its toll at the end.”
In their last game against Indiana, Wisconsin struggled with shooting in the first half but was able to pull away from an overmatched Hoosier team in a rebuilding season under head coach Tom Crean.
In that game, UW senior Joe Krabbenhoft scored a career-high 18 points and junior Trevon Hughes tagged on a game-high 21 points to lead the Badgers to an easy victory over the Hoosiers.
The first match, however, was in the middle of a six-game Wisconsin winning streak. Currently, the Badgers have lost two of their last three games, and both losses came on the road.
While the Hoosiers have struggled throughout the season, winning only one game in Big Ten play, they nearly shocked the Purdue Boilermakers last week before falling in the last few minutes in Bloomington, Ind. Because of their close games, the Badgers won’t overlook Indiana and its poor record.
“They’re a very dangerous team,” UW assistant coach Gary Close said before the teams’ first match. “They scare you. You look at their scorers and how they’ve played teams — they’ve been very competitive. They just haven’t gotten over the hump in a tough league.”
Now, the Badgers return to the Kohl Center to take on the Hoosiers. The game will mark the last home game for seniors Krabbenhoft, Marcus Landry, Kevin Gullikson and Morris Cain. Last year on senior night, Wisconsin crushed Penn State 77-41 to clinch a share of the Big Ten title. While the regular season title is out of reach, the Badgers still need to win to ensure a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
