Tonight's game between the No. 20 Wisconsin Badgers (9-5 Big Ten, 19-7 overall) and the Indiana Hoosiers (9-5, 14-11) will have added significance as both squads enter tied for third in the Big Ten standings. Both teams have one game remaining before the start of the Big Ten Tournament on March 10 in Chicago, Ill.
The Badgers have split their last six contests with the Hoosiers, four of which were away from the Kohl Center, and are looking to avenge a 74-61 loss earlier this year in Bloomington. In their first meeting, junior guard Bracey Wright torched UW, scoring 30 points, ending the Badgers' four-game win streak in the series, and also helped IU garner its first home victory over Wisconsin since Feb. 24, 2001.
The focus for Wisconsin this evening must be to limit the production of Wright, who leads the Hoosiers and the Big Ten with 19.0 points per game, and was recently named the Big Ten Player of the Week, as he averaged 29.5 points per game during a 2-0 week which included a 78-74 upset victory over No. 9 Michigan State this past Sunday.
Senior guard Clayton Hanson was assigned to Wright for the majority of the game in the last meeting, but look for Ryan to use numerous players on Wright, including junior Ray Nixon who, at 6' 8', has the length and the speed to limit Wright's open looks.
Wisconsin must also improve on taking care of the ball and their shooting from beyond the arc. They committed 18 turnovers in their last game against Indiana and shot 16.7 percent (3-18) from three point range, currently their lowest percentage this season.
\They can cause turnovers in many different ways,"" said Badger head coach Bo Ryan. ""That's a tough place to play, its still Indiana and it's still All-Americans we're playing against.""
Staying on the perimeter, the game will feature the conference's top perimeter defense as Wisconsin allows an average of .305 percent per game against an Indiana team that has made 32 of its last 65 (.492) three-pointers.
The Hoosiers also feature one of the best freshman classes in the country, lead by forward D.J. White, who leads Indiana with 4.9 rebounds per game and is second behind Wright in scoring at 13.9 ppg.
""I'm impressed, I have seen them play in the summers when they were just drilling teams,"" said Ryan. ""They are all great athletes who are physically mature and if the guy in the NBA was with them right now. [Atlanta Hawk J.R. Smith] ... Holy smokes, you should have seen him in high school.""
Since their last loss to top ranked Illinois on Feb. 26, the Hoosiers have won four of their last five games and are looking to beat the Badgers for the first time in Madison since a 69-59 success Jan. 25, 1998. The Badgers, meanwhile, have not lost two in a row all season.
