Indiana University Athletics
Wisconsin Game Notes
2/28/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
February 28, 2005
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana (14-11, 9-5 Big Ten) will head to Madison, Wis. for its final road game of the regular season, when it faces No. 23/23 Wisconsin (19-7, 9-5). Tip time is slated for 9 p.m. EST on Tuesday, March 1. The Hoosiers and Badgers will be playing a crucial game as both squads enter the game tied for third in the Big Ten standings.Earlier this season, IU took a 74-61 victory in Bloomington on Jan. 8. Junior guard Bracey Wright led the Hoosiers with 30 points on the evening. The victory snapped the Badgers' four-game win streak in the series, and also marked IU's first win over Wisconsin in Bloomington since Feb. 24, 2001. The Hoosiers have not defeated Wisconsin in Madison since a 69-59 triumph on Jan. 25, 1998.
Each Indiana basketball game can be heard live on the IU Radio Network. WHCC (105.1 FM in Bloomington) is the flagship station for the network that has more than 50 stations broadcasting Hoosier basketball all season long. Don Fischer (play-by-play), former Indiana guard Todd Leary (color commentary) and Joe Smith (pregame, halftime and postgame host) call all of the action.
The game will be nationally-televised on ESPN, and is the last of seven games the Hoosiers will have on ESPN. Brent Musberger will do play-by-play, while Steve Lavin will handle the color commentary and Erin Andrews is the sideline reporter.
Scouting Wisconsin
No. 20/20 Wisconsin (19-7, 9-5) enters its game against Indiana tied for third in the Big Ten standings. The Badgers have split their last six contests, four of which were away from the Kohl Center.
On Feb. 27, Wisconsin traveled to Columbus, Ohio where it took a 64-56 decision over Ohio State. Sophomore forward Alando Tucker led the Badgers with 19 points and nine boards, while senior forward Mike Wilkinson added 14 points and eight rebounds. Wisconsin hit 24-of-48 shots (.500), including 8-of-15 (.533) from behind the arc.
Tucker leads the Badgers in scoring, pouring in 15.0 ppg, which ranks seventh among the Big Ten's leading scorers, while his 6.8 rebounds a game is eighth-best in the league. Wilkinson leads the team and is fourth in the conference, pulling down 7.3 boards a game, and also contributes 14.3 points.
Senior guard Sharif Chambliss leads the Badgers with 2.8 assists a contest, while Clayton Hanson shoots a team-high 46 percent from behind the three-point line.
The Series vs. Wisconsin
The Hoosiers have an overall record of 92-53 against the Badgers. Indiana defeated Wisconsin, 74-61 on Jan.
|
|
Seris Facts
Last Meeting: Indiana 74, Wisconsin 61
(Bloomington on 1/8/05)
Indiana at Home: 50-22
Indiana at Wisconsin: 40-31
IU vs. UW on Neutral Court: 2-0
Last Indiana Win: 74-61 (1/8/05)
Last IU Win At Wisconsin 69-59 (1/25/98)
Last Wisconsin Win: 70-52 ( 3/9/04)
Last Wisconsin Win At Indiana: 79-45 (1/6/04)
Current Overall Streak: Indiana W1 (L4 at Wisconsin)
Favorite Time of Year
Under head coach Mike Davis, the Hoosiers play some of their best basketball in March. During the third month of the calendar year, IU is 17-8 since 2001.
The Wright Choice
When media and coaches are filling out their postseason award ballots this week, Indiana junior All-American candidate Bracey Wright will be among the top choices. Wright averaged 29.5 points to lead Indiana to a pair of key victories this past week. He scored 19 of his game-high 27 in the second half to lead the Hoosiers past Purdue, 79-62 and then notched a season-high 32 in a 78-74 victory over No. 9 Michigan State. He was 18-of-33 from the floor and 10-of-16 from three-point range. Wright also enters the week having made 14 straight free throws since the Feb. 20 Michigan game.
His performance this past week elevated him to the top of the Big Ten scoring standings (19.0 ppg), and he also ranks among the statistical leaders in free throw percentage (ninth, .776) and three-point field goals made (11th, 1.95). His 32-point effort against the No. 9 Spartans was his third 30-plus point effort of the season and the sixth of his career.
For the ninth time this season and the 34th time in his career, Wright played at least 38 minutes. The two wins vaulted Indiana into at least a tie for third place entering the last week of the regular season.
Two in a Row?
Indiana heads to Madison looking to upend is second consecutive ranked opponent. Should IU prevail, it would mark the first time since Jan. 8 and 13, 2002 that IU has defeated two straight ranked opponents. Ironically, IU began its last two straight ranked opponent winning streak with a triumph over Michigan State at home. On Jan. 8, 2002, Indiana downed then-No. 25 Michigan State, 83-65 in Bloomington before heading to Iowa City five days later to hand then then-No. 13 Hawkeyes a 77-66 setback.
IU has now beaten Michigan State seven of the last eight times that the Spartans came to Bloomington nationally-ranked.
Steady Strickland
Marshall Strickland has 23 assists and eight turnovers in his last four games, including a career-high eight assist, one turnover effort against the Spartans.
Perimeter Showdown
When Indiana meets Wisconsin on Tuesday night, the game will feature the Big Ten's premier perimeter defense (Wisconsin is first at .305) against a hot-shooting Indiana team that has made 32 of its last 65 (.492) three-pointers.
Wright has led the three-point assault in the last two games, hitting 10 of his 16 attempts from beyond the arc. The junior All-American candidate needs two more three-pointers to pass former teammate Kyle Hornsby for fourth on Indiana's career three-pointer list, and he needs two more points to pass Walt Bellamy for 15th on the Hoosiers' career scoring list.
More impressively, if you narrow Indiana's career scoring list to players who have played three varsity seasons or less, Wright is currently fourth with 1,440 points. Below are the players who achieved the feat:
11. Scott May, 1,593
14. Archie Dees, 1,546
15. Walt Bellamy, 1,441
16. Bracey Wright, 1,440
Picking up Steam
Heading into the Michigan State game, it was noted how Bracey Wright had a penchant for scoring a majority of his points in the second half of games. Well, against the Spartans, it was Big Ten Freshman of the Year candidate D.J. White who got things going after halftime, scoring 11 of his 17 points after intermission by hitting all five field goal attempts.
In his last four games, White is 27-of-42 from the floor (.643). On the season, White's .576 field goal percentage is fourth in the Big Ten and the third in Indiana freshman history. White is also 19th in the league in rebounding (4.9) and third in blocks at 2.20 per game.
Among freshmen, White is first in scoring (13.6), second in rebounding, first in field goal percentage (.576), fifth in free throw percentage (.742) and first in blocks.
That 70's Show
Under head coach Mike Davis, Indiana is 65-10 when it scores 70 or more points, including 17-4 in road contests. With the 78-74 overtime victory over No. 9 Michigan State, IU is in its most prolific scoring stretch since Dec. 31, 2002 through Jan. 8, 2003. This was the last time that IU scored 70 or more points in three straight games.
Date Opp Score
Dec. 31, 2002 at Ball State W, 76-62
Jan. 4, 2003 Charlotte W, 70-60
Jan. 8, 2003 Penn State W, 78-65
Although Wisconsin has held the Hoosier offense in check during IU's last four trips to the Kohl Center (Indiana has averaged 50.8 points in its last four games in Madison), Indiana is looking for its fourth straight 70-plus point outing on Tuesday. Should this occur, it would mark Indiana's best offensive performance since it opened the 2002-03 campaign by averaging 79.7 points per game in its first seven contests.
Consistent Contribution
One of the more impressive statistics about freshman swingman Robert Vaden is that he always finds a way to contribute. He may have been held to three points against Michigan State, but he also recorded three steals against the Spartans. It marked the sixth time this season that Vaden notched at least three steals in a game, and he is second among Big Ten freshmen and ninth overall in that category. His 37 steals are fourth in Indiana freshmen history and the most by a Hoosier since Tom Coverdale had 57 in 2001-02.
Getting it Done at Crunch Time
When Michigan State's Maurice Ager hit a three-pointer with 2:43 left in regulation, MSU took a 64-58 lead. However, IU closed out regulation with a 6-0 run to send it to overtime. Bracey Wright hit both of his free throws and notched a key block and steal during this stretch.
The Hoosiers then opened overtime by missing three of their first four free throws. However, IU bounced back to hit all six of its attempts from the charity stripe in the last 24 seconds of overtime.
At the Line
Indiana tied its season high when it went to the free throw line 32 times against Michigan State. Dating back to last season, Indiana has won seven straight games when it attempts at least 22 free throws.
Additionally, when Indiana outscored Michigan State, 22-9 at the free throw line, it marked the Hoosiers' most decisive advantage at the charity stripe since it made 23 free throws to Michigan's 10 en route to a 63-56 victory over the Wolverines in the 2003 Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals on March 14, 2003.
Sultan of Swat
Indiana freshman D.J. White is a leading candidate for Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. White blocked one shot against Michigan State, raising his total to 54 blocks on the season, which are a school record for a freshman and are 10th in school history.
Season - All Games
1. Dean Garrett 99 1987-88
2. Dean Garrett 93 1986-87
3. George Leach 79 2002-03
4. Uwe Blab 72 1984-85
5. Jeff Newton 70 2001-02
6. Uwe Blab 69 1983-84
7. Alan Henderson 64 1994-95
8. Jeff Newton 56 2000-01
Alan Henderson 56 1993-94
10. D.J. White 54 2004-05
In addition to his defensive exploits, White's .576 FG percentage is the best by a Hoosier since Alan Henderson shot .597 in 1994-95.
Class Records
Here is a look at where D.J. White and Robert Vaden rank among IU freshmen single-season records.
Field Goal Percentage (100 Att. Minimum)
Brian Sloan 1984-85 0.637
Steve Alford 1983-84 0.592
D.J. White 2004-05 0.576
Three Pointers Made
Bracey Wright 2002-03 66
Jay Edwards 1987-88 59
A.J. Guyton 1996-97 56
Robert Vaden 2004-05 40
Blocks
DJ. White 2004-05 54
Alan Henderson 1991-92 50
Jeff Newton 1999-00 49
Freshmen Starts
Indiana's 66 freshmen starts not only lead the Big Ten, but this is the best single-season true freshman start total for the Hoosiers since the 1996-97 quartet of Luke Jimenez, Michael Lewis, A.J. Guyton and Jason Collier started 72 games between them. The 1989-90 group of Lawrence Funderburke, Calbert Cheaney, Greg Graham, Pat Graham, Todd Leary, Chris Reynolds and Chris Lawson had a school record 73 starts between them.
Clutch Free Throws
Here is a player-by-player breakdown of how Indiana has fared at the foul line with five minutes or less remaining in the game and in overtimes:
Name FTs FT %
Robert Vaden 23-of-25 .920
Pat Ewing 9-of-11 .818
D.J. White 21-of-26 .808
Marshall Strickland 21-of-26 .808
A.J. Ratliff 11-of-14 .786
Bracey Wright 37-of-47 .787
Errek Suhr 3-of-4 .750
Rod Wilmont 3-of-4 .750
James Hardy 0-of-1 .000
Team Totals 127-of-153 .824
