Indiana University Athletics
Indiana Prepared For 2006 Big Ten Tournament
3/8/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 8, 2006
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana (17-10, 9-7 Big Ten) will open Big Ten Tournament play as the No. 5 seed, and will take on No. 4-seeded Wisconsin (19-10, 9-7) on Friday, March 10, at 2:30 p.m. ET. The winner will face the winner of top-seeded Ohio State and the winner of the 8-9 game on Saturday, March 11.
The Badgers defeated the Hoosiers, 72-54, on Feb. 8 in Madison, Wis., in the lone meeting between the two teams this season. Wisconsin was led by junior Alando Tucker's 29 points on the night, while Indiana was led by senior Marco Killingsworth's 14 points.
This game marks the second time Wisconsin and Indiana will meet in the Big 10 tournament. The only other meeting between the two schools in tournament play came on March 9, 2001, when the Hoosiers defeated the Badgers, 64-52, in the opening round of play.
On The Air
The Indiana-Wisconsin game will be televised on ESPN, with Brent Musberger (play-by-play) and Steve Lavin (color commentary) on the call. Additionally, all of Indiana's games 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. 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.
Scouting Wisconsin
Wisconsin enters Big Ten Tournament play with a 19-10 overall mark and a 9-7 record in league play. The Badgers enter the tournament with three losses in the their last four contests, including two straight road games. Most recently, Wisconsin fell 59-44 at Iowa on March 4. The Badgers were led by junior Kammron Taylor's 11 points on the night.
The Badgers are led by junior forward Alando Tucker, who averages a team-best 18.9 points, to go along with 5.7 rebounds per game. Taylor ranks second on the squad in scoring with 14.6 ppg, while redshirt freshman center Brian Butch averages 9.9 points and a team-best 6.0 rebounds on the year.
Head coach Bo Ryan is in his fifth season at the helm of the Badgers' program. He has compiled a record of 112-47 (.704) while with Wisconsin, and a 495-150 (.767) overall mark in his 22nd season as a head coach.
The Wisconsin Series
Indiana and Wisconsin will square off on the hardwood for the 148th time in the series history. The Hoosiers own a 92-55 advantage in the series. The two teams have met just once in the Big Ten Tournament, with Indiana taking a 64-52 decision on March 9, 2001.
Earlier this year, Wisconsin captured a 72-54 decision over the Hoosiers on Feb. 8, in Madison Wis. IU was led by sophomore guard/forward Robert Vaden's 11 points and 12 boards on the night - his first career double-double.
Wisconsin Last Time Out
Junior guard Kammron Taylor scored the game's first five points, but the No. 25 Wisconsin men's basketball team lost to No. 24 Iowa, 59-44, on March 4 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Taylor led Wisconsin with 11 points, shooting 4-of-9 (.444), making 3-of-4 attempts from 3-point range. The junior point guard's eight first-half points were instrumental in keeping Wisconsin close.
The Hawkeyes started the game 1-of-9 (.111) from the field and the Badgers took advantage by shooting 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Taylor and sophomore Michael Flowers combined for an 8-0 run with 9:30 left in the first half to jump out to a 16-7 lead. Flowers scored five of his seven points during the span to give Wisconsin its largest lead of the contest.
Wisconsin was then outscored 35-22 in the second half. Iowa kept its momentum by opening the second half with a 24-8 run to jump to a 48-30 lead. That cushion proved plenty as UW shot just 6-of-30 (.200) in the period.
Indiana Last Time Out
The Indiana men's basketball team sealed a first-round bye and the fifth seed in the Big Ten Tournament with its fourth straight victory, 69-67, over Michigan at Crisler Arena on March 4. The Hoosiers won their second straight road contest after trailing both games at the half.
Senior forward Marco Killingsworth paced four Hoosiers in double figures with his seventh double-double of the season. The Montgomery, Ala., native finished with 19 points on 9-of-13 from the field to go along with 13 rebounds. Junior guard Roderick Wilmont notched his seventh double-digit scoring performance off the bench with 13 points, including a quartet of free throws down the stretch. Sophomore guard/forward Robert Vaden and senior guard Marshall Strickland rounded out the Hoosier scoring attack with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Indiana shot 25-of-55 (.454) from the field, including seven buckets from behind the three-point arc. The Hoosiers and Wolverines were even on the boards at 31 apiece, while IU forced Michigan into a season-high 24 turnovers. Michigan finished 21-of-41 (.457) from the field, but kept pace with Indiana in the scoring column by hitting on 20-of-27 from the charity stripe.
Second Half Shooting
A reason why the Hoosiers have won two consecutive road games is due to the team's shooting in the second half. Indiana was down at halftime to Purdue on March 1 by two points, 27-25, after shooting .290 from the floor in the opening half. IU responded by outscoring the Boilermakers 45-32 in the second stanza behind 15-of-21 (.714) shooting from the floor. Against Michigan on March 4, the Hoosiers found themselves again down three (30-27) at the half, and responded by hitting .517 of their second-half shots to outscore the Wolverines, 42-37, in the game's final 20 minutes and pull out the win. Over its last two contests, Indiana has hit 30-of-50 (.600) field goals, including 10-of-18 (.556) from behind the arc in the second stanza.
Overcoming Halftime Deficits
In the Hoosiers' last two victories at Purdue (70-59 on March 1) and at Michigan (69-67 on March 4), they were trailing at halftime only to come back and get the win. The last time an Indiana team was able to come back from back-to-back halftime deficits to win came on Jan. 11, 1990 at Northwestern and Jan. 18, 1990, at Iowa. Against the Wildcats, the Hoosiers were down 36-35 after the first half, only to come back and win 77-63. A week later against the Hawkeyes, IU trailed 41-36 after the opening 20 minutes, and ended up with an 83-79 victory.
Marco's The Man
Senior forward Marco Killingsworth arguably had his best all around game as a Hoosier against Michigan on March 4. In the Hoosiers' 69-67 win, Killingsworth accounted for 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting and 13 boards, including a career-best seven offensive rebounds, in 33 minutes of action. It marked the Montgomery, Ala., native's seventh double-double this season and 15th of his standout career. His seven double-doubles this season are the most by an IU player since Jeff Newton had 11 during the 2002-03 campaign.
For the season, the All-American candidate and Wooden Award Finalist is averaging team-highs of 17.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per contest, which ranks fifth and fourth respectively among the Big Ten leaders.
"March"ing Through
Indiana head coach Mike Davis has always enjoyed the month of March. With two road victories to start this month, Davis now owns an impressive 20-12 (.625) record in games played during March during his six-year head coaching career.
Three Amigos
Indiana's top three scorers all had big games in the 69-67 win at Michigan on March 4. Senior forward Marco Killingsworth (19 points), senior guard Marshall Strickland (12 points) and sophomore guard/forward Robert Vaden (13 points) combined for 44 of Indiana's 69 points in the two-point win. It was the 12th time this season the threesome all hit double figures in the same contest, with the Hoosiers boasting an 10-2 record when it occurs. Furthermore, the trio combines for 60 percent (43.4 points) of the team's total scoring and 51 percent (17.1 rebounds) of its total rebounding this season.
