MADISON, Wis. — Madison misery won’t go away.
But the Indiana Hoosiers gave it a heck of a double-overtime run.
Not even forward Trayce Jackson-Davis’s second straight double-double, and a third straight double-figure scoring effort from guard Aljami Durham was enough. IU lost 80-73 at No. 8 Wisconsin.
“We gave ourselves a gas chance to win,” coach Archie Miller said. “They made a lot of wining plays at the end. We didn’t make enough. We didn’t do that when we needed to the most.”
He paused.
“I have to do a better job for them.”
IU (7-5 overall, 2-3 in the Big Ten) was poised to end 22 years and 17 games of futility at the Kohl Center, building a late six-point lead.
Then Wisconsin guard D’Mitrik Trice got hot, previously 3-point-shooting challenged Tyler Wahl hit consecutive double-overtime 3-pointers, and the Hoosiers were left to consider what might have been.
“We had one mission, that was to win,” Durham said. “We did not come here to play close. Nothing was on our mind but get that win.”
Added Miller: “Our execution late killed us. We needed to be a little sharper coming down the home stretch.”
Fatigue was a factor. Jackson-Davis and Durham each played 49 minutes. Guard Rob Phinisee played 48.
With foul trouble limiting the minutes of forward Race Thompson and swingman Jerome Hunter, Miller had little choice but leave Jackson-Davis in.
“With Trayce we live and die with, if he’s a little tired, it is what it is,” Miller said.
The Big Ten’s two best defensive teams went at it, and offense paid a first-half price.
Rising above it was Jackson-Davis, whose “get-me-the-ball” second-half demands weren’t about to be ignored.
At one point, he scored eight straight Hoosier points to rally them from an early second-half Wisconsin surge.
He finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds, a big jump given he’d scored a combined 15 points in two games against Wisconsin last year.
“Wisconsin is one of the best defensive teams in the country,” Miller said. “They don’t give you a lot. They’re tough to pierce the paint.”
And yet the Hoosiers did pierce it, time after time getting Jackson-Davis, and others, close-range shots. IU’s 44 points in the paint so infuriated Wisconsin coach Greg Gard that he benched forward Micah Potter down the stretch.
“We were able to get Trayce the ball on pick and rolls,” Miller said. “We ran good offense for most of the game.”
Durham had 15 points, four rebounds and five assists. Hunter had 12 points and seven rebounds despite playing with major foul trouble. Phinisee had 10 points and six assists.
Then there was freshman guard Anthony Leal, who had nine points in 35 minutes, huge for a guy who entered the game having played just 67 minutes for the season.
“He works his behind off,” Durham said. “I’m not shocked about it. You look up hard worker, it’s him. I look forward to him stepping up as we move forward.”
Wisconsin (10-2, 4-1) was led by Trice’s 21 points and seven assists.
“It was a very hard-fought game,” Miller said. “I’m proud of our guys and the way they competed and handled some adversity.”
Without guard Armaan Franklin, out due to the ankle injury suffered three days earlier against Maryland, IU started Phinisee, but often went with Leal and fellow freshmen Jordan Geronimo, Khristian Lander and Trey Galloway.
Foul trouble motivated some of that — Thompson had two early fouls, and Hunter had three by halftime — but so did Miller’s determination to play the young guys more.
While Galloway had emerged as a starting fixture, the others were waiting their chance.
Enter Leal and his 500-three-pointers-a-day mentality. It paid off with three 3-pointers along with a rebound, an assist and a blocked shot.
His first two long-range shots kept IU in the game in the first half.
“It’s a credit to him what a winner he is,” Miller said. “He sparked us, and made some big shots. He did a great job on both ends of the floor.”
Foul trouble hit minutes into the game when Thompson picked up two quick fouls. That made Wisconsin’s size advantage — starting 6-11 Nate Reuvers, the 6-10 Potter and 6-8 Aleem Ford — even more imposing.
The Badgers took advantage for a quick 9-4 lead. The Hoosiers adjusted with strong defense and getting Jackson-Davis the ball. The result was a 7-0 surge and an 11-9 lead.
Wisconsin rallied for a 12-point lead before IU, thanks to Leal’s perimeter sharp-shooting, closed to 29-24 at halftime.
The Badgers threatened to pull away early in the second half, but Jackson-Davis wouldn’t let them. He scored eight straight IU points before a Hunter three-pointer gave IU 50-48 lead with eight minutes left.
The Hoosiers inched ahead by four and then six behind a 26-10 second-half scoring edge in the paint.
Wisconsin surged back with a 7-0 run for a 57-56 lead as the clock ticked under two minutes.
IU regained the lead via Phinisee’s 3-pointer off a Durham assist. The Badgers tied it 59-59. The Hoosiers untied it on a Hunter dunk from a Jackson-Davis assist with 40 seconds left. Wisconsin tied it at 61-61 on a Trice floater.
IU had 17 seconds to work for the victory. Jackson-Davis had a shot, but couldn’t connect.
Overtime.
Leal hit his third 3-pointer, then played turnover-inducing defense on Reuvers. Hunter dunked off yet another Durham assist for a 66-64 IU lead.
Trice’s three-pointer put Wisconsin up 67-66. Durham drove for a layup and was fouled with 26 seconds left. His free throw made it 69-67. A Trice jumper tied it at 69-69 with 11 seconds left.
Overtime No. 2.
Consecutive three-pointers from Wahl gave the Badgers a lead they never lost.
Next up, a trip to Nebraska on Sunday.
“The Big Ten is a gauntlet,” Durham said. “We go forward and try to get a win at Nebraska.”
Indiana vs. Wisconsin
Postgame Notes
January 7, 2021
• Sophomore Trayce Jackson-Davis tabbed his eighth 20-points game this season, 15th in his career, with 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the floor. He added 12 rebounds, giving him four double-doubles this season and 16 in his career. He also matched a career-high (twice) with four assists and blocked three shots.
• Jackson-Davis has scored 20-plus points in three-straight contests and in five of the last six Hoosier games.
• Indiana is 13-3 in TJD double-double games in his career.
• Senior Aljami Durham scored 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor, his third-straight game in double figures in the scoring column. He added five assists, four rebounds, one steal and one block.
• Junior Rob Phinisee tallied 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting and added six assists in his return to the starting lineup
• Sophomore Jerome Hunter led the Indiana bench in scoring with 12 points, to match his career high (twice) on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor and 2-of-4 from behind the arc. He also tied his career best (North Alabama) with seven rebounds.
• Freshman Anthony Leal totaled career highs in points scored (9), field goals made (3), 3-pointers made (3), and minutes played (35).
• Redshirt junior Race Thompson added four points, five rebounds and a pair of blocks for the Hoosiers.
• Freshman Trey Galloway played 12 minutes in a starting role, his fifth of the season.
• Freshman Jordan Geronimo grabbed one rebound in six minutes off the bench.
• Freshman Khristian Lander collected one assist and one steal in four minutes of playing time.
• All five of Indiana’s losses this season have come against opponents that have appeared in the AP and Coaches Polls this season.
• Indiana used a pair of small, first half runs to overcome an early 14-0 spurt from Wisconsin. The first run, a 7-0 IU stretch, was made possible by a pair of buckets from Jackson-Davis and a long 3-pointer from Hunter. The second run (6-0) spanned the final 2:25 of the first half and consisted of a couple of 3’s from Leal.
• Indiana shot 16-of-24 (66.7%) from the floor in the second half and scored 31 of the team’s 37 second half points in the paint or at the free throw line. On the other end of the floor, IU held UW to 10-of-27 (37.0%) shooting in the second frame.
• The Hoosiers outscored the Badgers in the paint by a tally of 44-32.
• IU falls to 1-2 in overtime games this season, with tonight’s game being the first double OT contest of the season.
Courtesy of IUHoosiers
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