The Badgers are underdogs on the road on Saturday.
After one week off, the Wisconsin Badgers take on the Indiana Hoosiers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. Tip-off is at 11:00 AM this Saturday, and the Hoosiers are 4.5-point favorites.
The Badgers completed their three-game home stand with a 92-82 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes. Austin Rapp had his first true breakout game with 19 points, all of which came in the first half. John Blackwell and Nick Boyd were once again tremendous, as both guards combined for 43 points to deliver a victory for Wisconsin.
What should Badger fans know about the Indiana Hoosiers?
Opponent Preview
Indiana, under first-year head coach Darian DeVries, enters this game with a 15-8 overall record and a 6-6 Big Ten record. The Hoosiers are coming off a disappointing 81-75 loss at USC, where guard Lamar Wilkerson went off for 33 points in the loss. Indiana’s best win of the season came back on January 27th when they upset the 12th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers 72-67.
Wilkerson is the man to watch for Indiana. The transfer from Sam Houston State is third in the Big Ten in scoring with 20.2 points per game. Wilkerson has been the leading scorer in all but ten of Indiana’s games, including a 44-point performance in a 113-72 dismantling of Penn State back on December 9th.
In the backcourt for the Hoosiers are transfers Conor Enright and Nick Dorn. Enright, who previously played for Drake and DePaul, leads Indiana with 4.6 assists per game. Dorn is the team’s leading three-point shooter and free-throw shooter, shooting 41.5 percent from three and 88.6 percent from the charity stripe.
At the forward positions are two additional transfers in 6-foot-9 forward Sam Alexis and 6-foot-7 forward Tucker DeVries. Alexis is the team’s leading shotblocker with 1.1 blocks a game. DeVries, the coach’s son, leads the Hoosiers with 5.5 rebounds per game. Despite being the second-leading scorer on the team with 13.5 points per game, DeVries has been in a shooting slump. Against USC, DeVries shot a poor 1-for-9 from the field, including 1-for-8 from behind the three-point line.
Score Prediction
Both of these teams are relatively close to one another. Wisconsin averages 83.2 points per game, while Indiana averages 81.2 points per game. On defense, the Badgers allow 75 points per game, whereas the Hoosiers allow 71 points per game.
For Wisconsin to escape Bloomington with a win, Nolan Winter must be the difference maker against the Hoosiers’ lack of height in their frontcourt. Winter must establish physicality down low and dominate on the offensive glass to give the Badgers a chance at victory.
The Badgers have lost their last two trips to Assembly Hall. This game should go down to the wire, but I think the Hoosiers take this one in a close contest.
Prediction: Indiana 78-74
Category: General Sports
