Indiana basketball returned home to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Saturday after going 1-1 in the west coast trip. Awaiting them on Branch McCracken Court were the Wisconsin Badgers, who came into the matchup tied for fifth in the conference with Purdue.
After holding a lead as big as 14 in the first half and 12 in the second half, Indiana had to go to overtime to avoid a colossal collapse against the Badgers. Two massive moments from Conor Enright and Lamar Wilkerson with less than a minute left in overtime gave IU the 78-77 win.
Wisconsin came into this game as a top four scoring offense in the league, led by a “Purdue-style’’ guard-dominant three-headed monster with guards Nick Boyd and John Blackwell, who average 20 and 18.5 pointer per game respectively, and also 7-foot-1 center Nolan Winter averaging 13.8 points per game. Those three had 64 of Wisconsin's 77.
Shortly before tip, Indiana starting point guard Tayton Conerway would leave the arena and be ruled out with an illness. Enright would get the start for IU.
In the first half Indiana started well but cooled off a little bit, holding a first half lead as big as 14, but entering the halftime locker room with just a six-point lead, 36-30. Both teams shot modestly from deep in the opening frame: Indiana was 4-for-13, Wisconsin was 6-for-20. Another reason for Indiana holding the lead was first half turnovers, as they committed only three of them.
At the U12 timeout of the second half, Indiana had regrown its lead back to 10 with some massive contributions from Tucker DeVries. DeVries had eight points in the half at the time for IU. He’d finish with 16.
Wisconsin got the lead down to three with just over three and a half minutes left, and Indiana had to find a way to hold onto a lead that they hadn’t lost all game. At 2:33, Wisconsin’s Braeden Carrington stepped to the line for Badger points 66 and 67. IU led by one, 68-67. The next possession, Blackwell gave Wisconsin the lead with a fadeaway jumper.
Indiana went around three and a half minutes without scoring, but four straight Wilkerson free throws ended that drought and evened the game at 72. Blackwell, who had a tremendous second half with 16 points in it and 18 in the game, got the look for the win out of the timeout, but a mid-range did not fall, leading to overtime at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
The biggest plays of overtime came at the most dire moments of the extra five minutes. An Enright enforced charge call on Boyd gave Indiana an extra possession when Wisconsin had a chance to add to a late lead. The final act was a Wilkerson drive on Blackwell with around five seconds left. Wilkerson turned his back toward the basket, Blackwell got a foul call for “pulling the chair” on Wilkerson, who would knock in the winning free throws.
“This was a game we needed to have,” head coach Darian DeVries said postgame. “We needed to protect our home floor.”
Wilkerson would lead Indiana in scoring with 25. Sam Alexis had 19, a season-high, which made up for a stagnant Nick Dorn who had none.
“(Wilkerson)’s an elite player, even from a pro standpoint. He’s one of those guys people are not talking about enough,” Darian DeVries said.
Indiana has now won four of its last five and will have only one day of rest as it hosts Oregon at Assembly Hall, Monday at 8:30 p.m..
