Biggest takeaways from Wisconsin Badgers' 78-77 overtime loss to Indiana

Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard has frequently pointed out during his tenure that he never focuses on one or two possessions as reasons why his team wins or loses a game, especially in a game with over 65 possessions.

One or two possessions can be magnified, however, and there were two in particular that had a coach who has been in the league for more than 25 years perplexed by how they were officiated.

"I've never seen anything like that," said Gard, following his statement with a shrug of the shoulders.

The two possessions mentioned in the first question of Gard's postgame press conference happened in the game's final 15.1 seconds, which ultimately turned a one-point Wisconsin lead into a 78-77 overtime loss to Indiana at Assembly Hall Saturday.

The Badgers (16-7, 8-4 Big Ten) had spent more than 35 minutes trying to climb out of a 14-point deficit, rewarded for their effort by leading by four in the final minute of regulation and three in the final minute of overtime.

UW's defense was overwhelmed by Indiana's post play and dribble penetration, but it had regrouped to shut down the Hoosiers' perimeter attack and hold IU to just one field goal in the final 12:32 of the game.

Yet, Wisconsin starts a challenging month ahead with a loss in a game that felt like it got away from them and then didn't go its way when placed in the hands of the officials.

Here are my takeaways from Saturday afternoon

Film Breakdown: Explaining my stance on the Nick Boyd/Conor Enright charge call pic.twitter.com/ThzJpmYceE
— ᗩᑎT ᗯᖇIGᕼT (@itsAntWright) February 7, 2026

The final 20 seconds didn't go UW's way

Gard knew Indiana was trying to foul when Nick Boyd was driving back toward the midcourt line, as Wisconsin was holding a one-point lead in the closing seconds of overtime. As Indiana guard Conor Enright came in to defend, he made contact with Boyd, who also appeared to lower his right shoulder and extend his right arm outward as both tumbled to the floor.

The call? Offensive foul with 15.1 seconds left in overtime and Indiana trailing by one.

"They're trying to foul; they actually tried to foul us three times coming up the floor and didn't call," Gard said. "Offensively, we're driving away from the basket. I don't understand that call. I'll get more clarification. I've never seen that type of call before, so I guess there's first for everything."

Enright didn't dispute Gard's stance, saying the Indiana was trying to trap and turn the Badgers over before ultimately trying to foul by going for the charge.

"I figured, if I'm gonna foul, I might as well try to get a charge," he said. "It worked out."

Gard didn't see the next call but likely would have had something to say on that one, too.

Out of a timeout, Indiana's Lamar Wilkerson drew a foul backing down John Blackwell in the paint with 2.8 seconds left. Replays showed Blackwell stepping on Wilkerson's heel, incidental contact that caused Wilkerson to hit the floor, and the whistle to be blown.

Wilkerson sank both free throws, going 8-for-8 from the line to lead the Hoosiers with 25 points, and force UW into a half-court heave that guard Braeden Carrington got nowhere close.

"I thought Blackwell did a good job of walling him up," Gard said.

Even so, the charge call changed the entire complexion of the final possession.

"Tough call," Boyd said. "We just put ourselves in that position. It's unfortunate."

Wisconsin couldn't score or defend the paint

Gard eventually said there were a lot of other things that happened Saturday that the Badgers could have done differently to put themselves in a better position. First and foremost, Wisconsin didn't do a good enough job offensively or defensively in the paint.

The Badgers got too spread out defensively in the first half, allowing the Indiana guard to dribble too often into the paint to create offense. It's a problem Wisconsin knew it would have to contend with, considering the Badgers couldn't squeeze into the paint and give too much space on the perimeter to an Indiana team that thrives on the perimeter.

Of the Hoosiers' 36 points in the first half, 22 came in the paint. Indiana ended up going 18-for-31 around the rim and scored 44 points in the lane.

"We tried to negate that, but we needed to be better and more physical," Gard said. "When we were really good, we were more physical, and that negated what they were doing defensively."

On the flip side, Wisconsin scored 28 points in the paint but was just 7-for-22 on shots around the rim. Indiana made it a point to squeeze and plug the paint, which made for multiple contested shots at the rim. Indiana blocked nine shots, six of which came on shots by Blackwell and Boyd, who didn't do enough to draw contact and get to the line.

Indiana ranked 296th in fouls per defensive play (24.9 percent), but the Badgers didn't shoot their first free throws until the 12:40 mark of the second half. UW finished 11-for-12 from the line.

"I just missed layups, so it's on me," Boyd said. "Stuff I work on every day. Some days that's going to happen."

Winter Gave Wisconsin A Chance

The issues with the paint were only a part of the problems that Wisconsin dealt with. The Badgers were unable to score or defend reasonably well for the first 11 minutes of game time. UW didn't score a fast-break point for the first time all season and fell behind by double figures for the fourth consecutive game.

Winter nearly served as Wisconsin's eraser. The junior put on a clinic in a matchup where he had an edge in the frontcourt. He registered a career-high 26 points, he had seven of his 12 rebounds in the first half and defended well around the rim with two blocks and multiple altered shots.

After Wisconsin went down 14, Winter hit three-pointers on consecutive possessions that helped kick start the offense, with his turnaround hookshot with 5:35 remaining in the first half finally cutting the deficit down to single digits.

He scored Wisconsin's first four points in overtime by being aggressive, attacking the rim, allowing the Badgers to play with a lead for one of the few times on the afternoon.

"He's been doing that all year (with) the effort on the glass," Boyd said of Winter. "Bailing us out, myself included. Whether it's offensive rebounding, if I put something up crazy and him putting it back, or stretching the defense and hitting those threes. He's been great all year, and we're depending on him ... He's the reason why we was right there."

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