IN roars past Iowa in Big Ten tournament, likely bursting Hawkeyes’ bubble

That much is undeniable, no matter where your allegiance lies.

The 10th-seeded Hoosiers face No. 7 Iowa tonight in the Big Ten tournament opener for both teams.

The Badgers next play the victor of Friday’s last quarterfinal, between No. 25 Maryland and Northwestern.

Those teams played later Friday.

Senior Peter Jok never really got going.

“I thought what James did better in the second half even than the first was he cut”, IU Coach Tom Crean said.

But I reference it here because of how it applies to the last couple of games for IN basketball.

The Indiana Hoosiers (17-14) have won two of their last three games including a 96-92 win over Ohio State in which Robert Johnson scored 26 points in 10-for-17 shooting from the field.

During one stretch of the first half against Wisconsin, Indiana went almost four minutes without a point, going from leading 22-19 to trailing 28-22. It starts with their guard play.

Associated Press When Bronson Koenig is hitting from the perimeter, the Badgers’ offense can be formidable.

It has been a tough season for IN, one marred by injuries. Less than seven minutes later, IN had extended the advantage to 67-52 after a 14-2 run helped by six points from Blackmon. However, Bryant picked up a foul guarding Happ and one guarding Hayes, and was forced to sit over 12 of the first 20 minutes.

He finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and two assists. “We let it get away because of our poor shot selection and we weren’t connected defensively the way you need to be to play IN”.

UW shot the ball well early but the Badgers’ lax effort on the defensive glass was costly.

Win four games in four days, starting with today’s 5:30 p.m. game against 10th seed in, and the seventh-seeded Hawkeyes win the tournament title and the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.

With Blackmon hitting tough shots, the Hoosiers eventually built a 20-16 lead with 11:12 remaining in the half. Iowa found itself down as much as 31 in the second half and there was no coming back. Cordell Pemsl had 14 points, while Isaiah Moss added 11.

The three-pointer will be imperative for the Badgers, who will likely see their fair share of looks with Ethan Happ likely set to draw a double team in the post.

“They made a run and we weren’t able to capitalize and execute what we wanted to on offense”, Iowa guard Jordan Bohannon said.

The Badgers forced consecutive shot-clock violations but Koenig missed jumpers after each turnover.

Wisconsin had cruised through most of the first several weeks of Big Ten play before Koenig hurt his left calf in a 27-point win on January 24 against Penn State. Happ and Hayes combined for 24 points. “It’s going to be a fight right from the start against IN”.

Did the Hoosiers have one last surge?

No. 10 IN (17-14, 7-11) vs. They then scored just 14 points over the next 14 minutes as the Hoosiers pulled away.

And if the answers to any of those questions involve departures, the more questions arise, such as who replaces Blackmon, Bryant, and Anunoby with a weak bench and an unimpressive recruiting class headed to Bloomington?

The lead was down to 64-60.

Showalter made both bonus free throws for a 68-60 cushion.

After a phantom foul call on Trice on a three-pointer for the Hoosiers, the Badgers had another run, including six unanswered points in 25 seconds. IN would cut the lead to within 10, and Wisconsin would push back.