Hoosiers Fizzle Down the Finish, Fall to No. 15 Wisconsin, 74-69
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana star Trayce Jackson-Davis has been struggling to score lately, and he's been fighting off an ankle injury, too. He sat out a couple practices this week, just to be sure he could give it his all on Tuesday night against No. 15 Wisconsin.
And he did. All of the all.
Jackson-Davis scored 30 points, his highest total in a Big Ten game this season, and had a season-high six assists. As good as he was, though, it still wasn't enough, as the Hoosiers staggered down the finish and lost 74-69 to the Badgers.
It was the fourth straight loss for the Hoosiers, who are now 16-9 on the season and 7-8 in the Big Ten with five regular season games to go. And that NCAA bid that seemed so certain two weeks ago? It's now in serious jeopardy.
It's been a familiar refrain all season that Indiana couldn't finish a game. They led 69-66 with 1:50 go, but never scored another point. Wisconsin closed out the game with an 8-0 run to steal a win, their 20th of the season.
The Hoosiers just can't find a way to win close games. Again. Ghosts continue to circle.
"They're looking over their shoulders, again in past years, how things have happened to them coming down the stretch,'' Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. "I've got to help them get over that, somehow."
The final 1:50 was hard to swallow, because the Hoosiers had played well enough to win this game. They tried to get the ball inside to Jackson-Davis late, but the Badgers forced him to give it up, and the Hoosiers couldn't make any open perimeter looks.
Xavier Johnson missed a jumper with 1:14 to go, and Trey Galloway missed an open three with 38 seconds to go. Parker Stewart missed a desperation heave on a broken play with six seconds to go to end all doubt.
"I thought I was kicking the ball out pretty well the whole game, and when I saw Brad (Davison) dig, and Xavier was wide open for a shot, I passed it to him,'' Jackson-Davis said. "Sometimes you don't hit them, but I'd have him shoot that shot 10 times out of 10. It was a great look by him, and I know he wished he could get it back, and I know he will in the next game.
"What I see is a bunch of guys that work really hard on their shots. Parker, Anthony (Leal), Miller (Kopp,). Everyone is in the gym working all the time. It's just mental. They just got to have their confidence up and just have support. So they're going to keep doing their thing, keep getting up shots in extra time, and they're going to start falling. You just got to have faith in your teammates, and I know they'll get out of these slumps. ''
It didn't help that Wisconsin kept finding a way to score after every Indiana miss. Johnny Davis, who finished with 30 points, had a basket and made 6-of-7 free throws down the stretch to slam the door. It was the second time this season that Wisconsin beat Indiana with a late rally. They did the same thing in December in a 64-59 win, closing out the game on a 12-2 run.
Wisconsin guard Brad Davison had a great night, too, scoring 21 points and making all 10 free throws.
"It's a tough game (to lose). I've got to give them credit,'' Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. "You know, we were trying to go inside and we missed some wide open shots coming down the stretch. The times we got it inside, you know, Trayce made them pay for it.
"He was great. He made his three throws. I don't think we milked it enough. I kept trying to go to him because they couldn't stop him. Him being so unselfish, he kept letting the ball come out and we just couldn't make shots.''
Jackson-Davis was 10-for-13 from the field and made 10-of-14 free throws. He also had eight rebounds and just one turnover in 34 minutes.
Senior forward Race Thompson was the only other Hoosier in double figures, scoring 13 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Johnson had seven points and was just 3-for-16 shooting. Galloway had seven points, and Stewart had eight off the bench. Miller Kopp had just two points in 24 minutes.
Indiana doesn't play until Monday now, at Ohio State. The game was originally schedule for Saturday, but was moved back so the Buckeyes could make up a snow game with Iowa. That game will be on Saturday now, so the Hoosiers will catch them on short rest.
Wisconsin is now 20-5 on the season and 11-4 in the Big Ten, a half-game out of first behind Illinois. The Badgers host Michigan on Sunday.
