Defense Rests: Indiana Snaps Losing Streak With 63-45 Win Over Wisconsin

Indiana looked lost during a recent three-game losing streak, but they completely flipped the script on Saturday and shut down No. 18 Wisconsin 63-45 at Assembly Hall with a great defensive effort.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Dr. Jekyll, meet Mr. Hyde.

Indiana's basketball team, down in the dumps while in the midst of a three-game losing streak, needed a win the worst way on Saturday when it hosted No. 18 Wisconsin at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Unable to guard anyone the past two weeks, the Hoosiers completely flipped that script against the Badgers, winning 63-45 with their best defensive effort of the year.

They held Wisconsin to just 32.1 percent shooting, and the Badgers made just 5-of-24 three-point attempts. That's a rapid departure from the 18 threes they gave up in a blowout loss at Penn State on Wednesday. No Wisconsin starter reached double figures, and the group was just 1-for-14 from three.

A complete 180, to be sure, for a team that was held accountable for every misstep against Penn State during film sessions and practice the past two days. It paid off.

And the Hoosiers were good from start to finish. They allowed only 20 points in the first half, and 25 in the second. And it all came from better effort and even better execution. They only scored 21 themselves in the first half, but made nine of their first 11 shots to start. the second half and pull away.

"Well, it's been a lot of film work. There's been a lot of practice, a lot of yelling and screaming and trying to get things accomplished in practice,'' Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. "I thought our guys answered the bell. Our backs were somewhat against the wall, and losing three in a row is not fun for anybody. But you know, our guys still had good spirits coming in to practice, and it was a nice carryover today. I mean, we played Indiana defense the way I think we should be playing.

"I know defense wins basketball games and I've been around enough games where neither team could score the basketball and it's a dogfight. Everybody is scratching and scraping and trying to get a bucket and can't get it and that's how it was the first half. I don't mind games like that. I told our guys at halftime that the defense was solid and if we can just find some offense to get a cushion, we'd be just fine and I thought we started the second half on a bang. We were great. I think it was an 18-2 run when we started.

It was a rare win for the Hoosiers over Wisconsin. who were 1-10 in the last 11 meetings and 3-24 dating back to 2008. Sure, the Badgers (11-5, 3-3 in the Big Ten) were missing leading scorer Tyler Wahl, who's out with an ankle injury, but the Hoosiers are missing people, including starters Xavier Johnson and Race Thompson.

With Thompson out, Indiana has needed production from that power forward spot, but they haven't been getting it. Jordan Geronimo has really struggled in a starting role, but he had a great game on Saturday. He had 12 points and 11 rebounds, including five on the offensive end. He was a disrupter on both sides of the floor, giving the kind of production that Woodson has wanted all along. 

"Going through those games, just where I didn't produce as much, has made me realize I have to put more into preparation,'' Geronimo said. "It's watching more film with the coaches and being more focused on what's happening on the court.

"Also, it's just being able to play more free without worrying about the extras, you know what I mean. So when I just have that in mind and keep that in mind throughout the game, just playing hard and not worrying about all the other intangibles, I was able to play like myself.''

It was 21-20 at the break and Indiana stars Trayce Jackson-Davis and Jalen Hood-Schifino had just four points each. But they took over in the second half, with the Hoosiers opening the period on a 12-0 run to go up. After a Wisconsin basket, the Hoosiers reeled off six more points and were suddenly up 17. The Badgers got within 10 a few times, but the outcome was never in doubt.

Jackson-Davis had 14 second-half points on 7-of-7 shooting, and 18 points and 12 rebounds for the day. Hood-Schifino had 12 second-half points on 6-of-8 shooting and had 16 for the game with five rebounds, four assists, a steal and just two turnovers in 36 minutes.

They came through when the Hoosiers needed it most. Stopping the bleeding was a real thing.

"Yeah, our backs were against the wall, dropping three straight,'' Jackson-Davis said. "Especially two of them by one and two points, it's demoralizing, and then going into Penn State and that happening. So your backs are against the wall and we play Wisconsin, a team that I have not beaten since I've been here. Obviously they are a little short-handed but we are shorthanded, too. So it was a dogfight and we knew it was going to happen on the defensive end and that's what we preached all week in getting ready and prepared for them. I also thank the crowd because the crowd was a huge piece as well.

Jackson-Davis had a field day against Wisconsin 7-footer Steven Crowl in the paint. He had a couple great dunks on spin moves, and also had four assists and five blocked shots.

He did it all.

"I think that's just Coach Woodson in general,'' he said when asked about Indiana's successes getting the ball inside. "It's inside-out and once you get them, our inside position got established and when we get our bigs going and run ball screens and get (Malik) Reneau going, get Trey (Galloway) going, it wears down their bigs and that's what we did. I thought we did a good job with it.''

Reneau and seldom-used big man Logan Duncomb also played well. Reneau had six points in 13 minutes and Duncomb gave Jackson-Davis a breather in the first half and held his ground, too. 

The Hoosiers (11-6, 2-4 in the Big Ten) will need him going forward, so their play on Saturday was a positive sign heading into next week, when the Hoosiers play at Illinois on Thursday and are home against Michigan State on Sunday.  

It was a tough couple of days of practice, but it all paid off and the Hoosiers got things turned around. 

Now they need to keep it up. 

"As a coach, when I'm challenging players, sometimes it makes them a little uneasy and I get that,'' Woodson said. "But at the end of the day, they have to understand that I'm in their corner and I need them to perform at a high level.

"It ain't personal, but it's culture. That's what I call it.'' 

Indiana's futility vs. Wisconsin

Since the 2002 season, Indiana is just 7-30 against Wisconsin. Here are the scores through the past two decades:

• Feb. 13, 2002: Wisconsin 64, Indiana 63 in Bloomington
• Feb. 15, 2003: Wisconsin 71-59 in Madison 
• Jan. 6, 2004: Wisconsin 79, Indiana 45 in Madison
• March 9, 2004: Wisconsin 79, Indiana 52 in Bloomington
• Jan. 8, 2005: Indiana 74, Wisconsin 61 in Bloomington
• March 1, 2005: Wisconsin 62, Indiana 60 in Madison
• Feb. 8, 2006: Wisconsin 72, Indiana 54 in Madison 
• March 10, 2006: Indiana 61, Wisconsin 56 in Indianapolis
• Jan. 31, 2007: Indiana 71, Wisconsin 66 in Bloomington
• Jan. 31, 2008: Wisconsin 62, Indiana 49 in Madison
• Feb. 13, 2008: Wisconsin 68, Indiana 66 in Bloomington
• Feb. 19, 2009: Wisconsin 68, Indiana 51 in Bloomington 
• March 8, 2009: Wisconsin 85, Indiana 61 in Madison
• Feb. 13, 2010: Wisconsin 83, Indiana 55 Madison
• Feb. 25, 2010: Wisconsin 78, Indiana 46 in Bloomington
• Jan. 20, 2011: Wisconsin 69, Indiana 60 in Madison
• March 3, 2011: Wisconsin 77, Indiana 66 in Bloomington
• Jan. 26, 2012: Wisconsin 57, Indiana 50 in Madison
• March 9, 2012: Wisconsin 79, Indiana 71 inIndianapolis
• Jan. 15, 2013: Wisconsin 64, Indiana 59 in Bloomington
• March 16, 2013: Wisconsin 68, Indiana 56 in Chicago
• Jan. 14, 2014: Indiana 75, Wisconsin 74 W 75-72 Bloomington
• Feb. 25, 2014: Wisconsin 69, Indiana 58 in Madison
• Feb. 3, 2015: Wisconsin 92, Indiana 78 in Madison
• Jan. 5, 2016: Indiana 59, Wisconsin 58 in Bloomington
• Jan. 26, 2016: Wisconsin 82, Indiana 79 in Madison
• Jan. 3, 2017: Wisconsin 75, Indiana 68 in Bloomington
• Feb. 5, 2017: Wisconsin 65 Indiana 60 in Madison 
• March 10, 2017: Wisconsin 70, Indiana 60 in Washington, DC 
• Jan. 2, 2018: Wisconsin 71, Indiana 61 in Madison
• Feb. 26, 2019: Indiana 75, Wisconsin 73 in Bloomington
• Dec. 7, 2019: Wisconsin 84, Indiana 64 in Madison 
• March 7, 2020: Wisconsin 60, Indiana 56 inBloomington 
• Jan. 7, 2021: Wisconsin 80, Indiana 73 in Madison 
• Dec. 8, 2021: Wisconsin 64, Indiana 59 in Madison 
• Feb. 15, 2022: Wisconsin 74, Indiana 69 in Bloomington
• Jan. 14, 2023: Indiana 63, Wisconsin 45 in Bloomington

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• LIVE BLOG: Relive all the action from Indiana's win over Wisconsin in Tom Brew's live blog straight from press row. CLICK HERE
• ESSEGIAN SHINES FOR WISCONSIN: Wisconsin freshman guard Connor Essegian scored 14 points and had 11 rebounds Saturday, returning to his home home state. The 6-foot-4 guard from Fort Wayne, Ind. scored 2,526 career points for Central Noble High School. CLICK HERE
• PHOTO GALLERY: Indiana hosted Wisconsin Saturday and snagged a much-needed win with a great defensive effort in the 63-45 victory. Here are the best photos from the game. CLICK HERE
• WATCH HOOD-SCHIFINO FLOATER: Watch this instant replay of Indiana basketball's Jalen Hood-Schifino with the floater to give Indiana a 5-point lead over No. 18 Wisconsin. CLICK HERE
• WATCH GERONIMO'S PUT-BACK: Indiana forward Jordan Geronimo showed relentless effort on the offensive glass to extend Indiana's lead over Wisconsin in the first half. CLICK HERE
• WATCH JACKSON-DAVIS PASS TO GERONIMO: Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis found Jordan Geronimo open under the basket with a nice pass to beat the Wisconsin defense. CLICK HERE
• WATCH TREY GALLOWAY AND-ONE: Watch Indiana guard Trey Galloway secure the and-1 in the Hoosiers' matchup versus No. 18 Wisconsin. CLICK HERE
• WATCH MALIK RENEAU LAYUP: Malik Reneau showed soft touch with a left-handed layup over Connor Essegian to give Indiana the lead in the first half against Wisconsin. CLICK HERE
• WATCH JACKSON-DAVIS' BLOCK: Watch Indiana basketball's Trayce Jackson-Davis block Wisconsin's Steven Crowl in this instant replay from CBS Sports. CLICK HERE