Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Wisconsin
Second-Half Performance Pushes Hoosiers in Semifinals
3/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 10, 2006
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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Indiana men's basketball team used an impressive second-half performance to advance to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals with a 61-56 victory over No. 4 seed Wisconsin. The No. 5 seed Hoosiers shot 64.3 percent (18-of-28) from the floor in the second-half, including 5-of-9 from three-point range to top the Badgers. Indiana improved to 18-10 on the year, while Wisconsin fell to 19-11.
Senior forward Marco Killingsworth notched his eighth double-double of the season with a game-high 20 points to go along with an IU Big Ten Tournament record 12 rebounds. He became just the third IU player for the fourth time in notched a double-double in the Big Ten Tournament. He also finished 10-of-15 from the floor. Senior guard Marshall Strickland added 16 points, five rebounds and four assists, while junior guard Roderick Wilmont recorded his eighth double-digit performance off the bench as he finished with 11 points.
For the game, the Hoosiers shot 50 percent (25-of-50) from the field for the 11th time this season and improved to 10-1 when accomplishing the feat. Indiana also connected on six three-point field goals. Wisconsin shot 32.8 percent from the field (21-of-64) and only 11.8 percent from three-point range (2-of-17).
After struggling to its lowest first-half offensive production of the year, the Hoosiers came out of the locker room on fire. IU knocked down its first five second-half shots, all of which came off assists. Neither IU nor Wisconsin was able to record an assist.
The hot shooting propelled the Hoosiers on an 11-2 run, which erased a four-point halftime deficit and turned it into a five-point lead. Killingworth scored down low, before junior guard Earl Calloway and sophomore guard A.J. Ratliff played give-and-go in transition to even the contest at 19. Brian Butch hit a jumper to give Wisconsin a slim cushion, but the Hoosiers scored the game's next seven points to take the lead. Strickland scored five of the seven Hoosier points, including a trey in front of the IU bench with just three minutes gone in the second half to give IU a 26-21 lead.
The lead ballooned to nine on a pair of occasions. Strickland crossed over his defender to create space and knocked down a trifecta from the top of the key to push the lead to 37-28. Sophomore guard/forward Robert Vaden again made it a nine-point cushion with a three of his own that upped the IU lead to 40-31 with 11:55 remaining.
With the Hoosiers leading 44-37, the Badgers went on a 9-1 run to regain the lead. Butch scored the Badgers first five points on the spurt with a pair of jumpers, including a three from the right wing at the 9:21 mark. The trey marked the first of the contest for Wisconsin after it had missed on its opening 11 offerings.
After a Strickland free throw made it a three-point Hoosier cushion, Wisconsin's Alando Tucker knocked down a jumper from the left baseline and Ray Nixon followed up a Tucker miss with a dunk. The pair of scores tallied a 46-45 Wisconsin lead.
Wilmont briefly gave the Hoosiers back the lead with a three from the right wing, but Michael Flowers responded for Wisconsin with three straight points. He knocked down the first of two free throws, and after the Badgers garnered the offensive rebound on his missed second, he hit a leaner to put Wisconsin on top, 49-48, with 6:47 remaining.
Indiana took the lead back for good on Strickland reserve layup for a 50-49 advantage 23 second later. The bucket started a seven-point Hoosier spurt as Killingsworth back down Butch for hook shot in the lane to make it 52-49. Wilmont capped of the run as he connected on a trey from the left wing, his third of the contest.
The lead never dipped below four over the waning minutes. Strickland drew a key charge with IU leading by five and less then a minute to go. After the Hoosiers failed to score on the offensive end, the Badgers were in transition looking to cut the gap to a single possession, but Strickland stepped in front of a charging Taylor with 31.9 second remaining. Vaden then connected on a pair of three throws as the Hoosiers hit four down the stretch to ice the contest.
Indiana jumped out to an early 10-2 advantage thanks to its defensive play. Kilingsworth notched six of the Hoosiers' first 10 tallies, including a 12-foot baseline jump with 13:16 remaining in the opening half that pushed the IU lead to 10-2. IU held Wisconsin to one of its first eight from the floor on the defensive end.
The Hoosier offense hit a cold spurt midway through the first half, as it missed nine straight shots and turned the ball over five times. Over the nearly 10-minute stretch, Wisconsin turned an eight-point deficit into a seven-point lead with a 15-0 run. Kevin Gullikson was instrumental in the run for Wisconsin. With IU leading 10-6, Gullikson scored eight straight Badger points, including a bucket to give Wisconsin its first lead of the game on an offensive putback with 8:21 remaining.
Gullikson capped the Wisconsin run with another offensive rebound and basket, which gave the Badgers a 17-10 lead. Wilmont scored the Hoosiers' final five points of the half, including a trey from the left wing with 34 seconds remaining. It was the first and only three of the first half for either team and sent the Hoosiers to the locker room trailing 19-15.
Indiana advances to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament for the fourth time, all under head coach Mike Davis. IU will play No. 7/7 Ohio State in the second semifinal on Saturday, March 11. The game is slated for 4:05 p.m. and can be seen on CBS. The game can be heard on the IU Radio Network with Don Fischer (play-by-play), former IU guard Todd Leary (color) and Joe Smith (pregame, halftime, postgame) on the call. The Hoosiers defeated Ohio State, 81-79, in Bloomington during the teams' only meeting this season on Jan. 7.
