Indiana men’s basketball moved to 16-8 overall and 7-6 in Big Ten play with a 78-77 win over Wisconsin in overtime on Saturday afternoon.
The Hoosiers built a 36-30 lead in the first half before the Badgers
began to chip away in the last few minutes. From there, they were outscored 42-36 in the second half as Wisconsin managed to force overtime after a slight lead dwindled one again in the closing minutes.
Indiana was led in scoring by Lamar Wilkerson, who finished with 25 points after going 8-20 from the field and 8-8 from the free throw line. He was followed closely by Sam Alexis who, in perhaps his best game on the season, finished with 19 points on 9-10 shooting.
It was a remarkably poor showing from beyond the 3-point line for the Hoosiers, who hit just five of their 22 attempts from deep on the game. That forced Indiana to go inside more, to Alexis, who answered when the Hoosiers needed him most this season.
The tide turned in overtime after Conor Enright drew a charge call on Nick Boyd. From there, Wilkerson drew a foul on John Blackwell and went to the free throw line for two shots down by just a point. He hit both and the Badgers didn’t have enough time to get a clean look.
It’s a boost for Indiana’s tournament resume, but questions linger about this team’s late game play. The Hoosiers return to play on Monday, facing Oregon at home in Assembly Hall.
