The Badgers didn't need a heroic last-second bank shot to get a win in Assembly Hall this year.
Junior guard Trevon Hughes ran circles around the young Hoosiers, leading Wisconsin with 21 points as they cruised to a 68-51 win. Senior Joe Krabbenhoft added his own big night, scoring a career-high 18 points, grabbing five rebounds, and dishing out two assists.
With the victory Wisconsin kept its five-game winning streak alive and improved to 17-9 (8-6) on the year.
A slow start by the Badgers allowed the Hoosiers to stay close until halftime. Krabbenhoft said earlier in the week the Badgers couldn't look past this Indiana team.
\Coach Crean has them playing real hard and believing in each other that they can beat anybody,"" he said. ""They're going to go out guns blazing ready to beat us and we just got to be ready for it.""
The Badgers were definitely ready for it, especially Hughes. He scored 10 of the Badgers' first 15 points and frustrated the Hoosiers on defense all night. It was the third time he scored over 20 this season.
Heading into the locker room. Wisconsin's lead was only one, but they came out on fire in the second half.
An 18-4 run on the backs of Krabbenhoft and Hughes to begin the half gave the Badgers a 15-point lead. Wisconsin held Indiana scoreless for over six minutes during the run until Indiana freshman Nick Williams hit two free throws.
The Hoosiers failed to get the game back in reach the rest of the night.
Just like in most cases when the Badgers win, a strong defensive effort helped them outplay their opponents. They forced 15 turnovers while only turning the ball over themselves five times.
Wisconsin also refused to give up the easy shots, which got them in trouble during their mid-season slide. They held the Hoosiers to 40.5 percent shooting and only allowed two 3-pointers, both coming when the game was in control.
During the six-game losing streak, the Badgers' defense faltered down the stretch, but now they are putting together complete games. Krabbenhoft mentioned earlier this week they didn't forget how to play solid defense.
""We never really got away from it, we just weren't doing it for 40 minutes,"" he said. ""Just executing the whole game down the defensive end, not having defensive lapses.""
Indiana was lead by freshman guard Verdell Jones III with 16 points.
They also welcomed back junior Devan Dumes from his two-game suspension.
The win lifts Wisconsin into a tie for fourth in the Big Ten standings heading into Michigan State on Sunday. The Spartans have been vulnerable this year in East Lansing, losing to Northwestern and Penn State.
- uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
