Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan had it all planned out. With 10 seconds left, the score was tied 60-60 and the ball was in the Badgers' hands. Overtime was not an option and sophomore forward Alando Tucker was going to be the hero.
\Alando, you're going to get the offensive rebound on the miss that's going to win the game and you can ask any one of those guys,"" said Ryan regarding the plan for the final seconds of the game. ""That's the only thing all night that anybody ever listened to me [about].""
And indeed, it happened.
Tucker initially tried to save the day with a 3-pointer from the corner but as Ryan predicted, he came up short. Senior forward Mike Wilkinson found the offensive rebound but also failed to put the game away. Just before the final buzzer went off, Tucker finally pulled off Ryan's plan. He tipped in Wilkinson's missed lay-up to put the finishing touches on Wisconsin's thrilling 62-60 victory.
For most of the game, the Badgers were not this close to the Hoosiers.
They kept a comfortable lead during the first half and much of this came thanks to Wilkinson's 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting. The second half was a completely different story.
Before Tucker's game-winning tip-in, the Badgers had not scored a field goal for approximately nine minutes. They were a scorching 52 percent from the field in the first half but cooled off to 29.2 percent in the second. To keep the game within reach, the Badgers had to score at the free-throw line. They also struggled there and went only 9 for 15 in the final nine minutes.
""Defensively they did a great job,"" Ryan said. ""They're so athletic and quick. We didn't get a lot of second-chance opportunities during that run and they get seven field goals in that stretch and fortunately we had one more in us.""
Indiana's junior forward Bracey Wright did not have an offensively dominating night against the Badgers. He tallied only 13 points on 3-of-13 shooting from the field, but as always, he hit shots when Indiana needed it the most. His back-breaking 3-pointer gave the Hoosiers their first lead at 56-55.
Indiana also received an offensive contribution from tag-team forward D.J. White and guard Robert Vaden. White ended the night with a team-high 17 points, while Vaden added 10 points, seven boards and three steals in his 33 minutes.
While Tucker proved to be the game-winner, Wilkinson led all scorers with 28 points and added another nine boards as well as three steals.
Tucker tallied nine points in the first half and ended the game with 17 points and eight boards. He also had a scary fall in the second half and appeared to hurt his back but got back up to finish out the game.
Before the Badgers can look to the Big Ten Tournament, they have one more final showdown at the Kohl Center. Wisconsin will welcome Purdue on Saturday for the final tip-off of the 2004-'05 season.
