Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers fall at Wisconsin
3/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 1, 2005
MADISON, Wis. -A tip-in at the buzzer from sophomore forward Alando Tucker snapped the Indiana men's basketball team three-game winning streak as the No. 23 Badgers downed the Hoosiers, 62-60 on Tuesday night
at the Kohl Center.
Indiana put forth a valiant effort as it trailed the entire game until the 2:22 mark when junior guard Bracey Wright hit a shot just inside the arc mark to put the game in Indiana's favor, 56-55 for the first time all game. The Hoosiers, who found themselves down by 10 or more on nine different occasions throughout the game, allowed the Badgers to tie the game at 56 when senior center Mike Wilkinson hit a free throw with 1:48 left in the game. A foul from sophomore forward Pat Ewing Jr, brought Wilkinson to the line again where he would hit the front end of a one-and-one to regain the Badger lead.
The game really came down to the wire as the clocked ticked down. Junior guard Roderick Wilmont came up with a huge offensive rebound followed by put-back to tie the game yet again, 60-60, with 14 seconds showing on the clock. In its final trip down the court, it appeared as if the teams were headed into overtime after Wilkinson missed a lay-up, but Tucker snuck into the lane and followed through with the tip-in to seal the victory at the buzzer.
With the loss, IU slips to 14-12 overall and 9-6 in conference action. The Badgers improve to 20-7 on the year and 10-5 in the Big Ten.
Three Hoosiers scored in double-figures as freshman forward D.J. White notched a team-high 17 points, while Wright scored 13 and freshman guard Robert Vaden finished with 10. Wilmont had a team-high and season-high eight rebounds.
Wilkinson led the way for the Badgers with a game-high 28 points, while Tucker contributed 17 points.
The Badgers got the best of Indiana early on and jumped out to an early 16-6 lead at the 14:06 mark. Wilmont kept the Hoosiers in the game after he nailed a three-pointer to cut Wisconsin's lead to six, 18-12, with just under 12 minutes left in the half. Wilmont's tre sparked a Hoosier 9-2 run as Wright followed up with a shot from behind the arc to bring IU within three, 20-17.
Indiana tried to keep the momentum going in its favor but Wilkinson became unstoppable as he went 8-for-9 from the field in the first half, including a 3-for-4 effort from three point range. The 6-8 forward had 19 points at the break.
Leading, 27-17, at the 7:22 mark, Wisconsin applied pressure and forced Indiana to go without a field goal for almost five minutes. Freshman guard A.J. Ratliff finally broke the scoring drought when he hit a three-pointer of his own with just five minutes left in the stanza. The Hoosiers battled the rest of the way, but could only bring the game to within seven, 37-30 at halftime.
Indiana held a slim rebounding advantage as they collected 35 boards compared to the Badgers' 32.
Indiana returns home for its final regular season match up against Northwestern on Saturday, March 5. Tip off with the Wildcats is set for 4:30 p.m. and can be heard locally on WHCC (105.1) with Don Fischer (play-by-play), Todd Leary (color) and Joe Smith (pregame, halftime and postgame host) calling all of the action. Additionally, the game will be televised on ESPN Plus Regional.
