The Indiana Hoosiers came into the college basketball season at the top team in the nation, but after a loss at home to Wisconsin on Tuesday night, the team may not even finish the year as the top team in their conference.
The Badgers upset the second-ranked Hoosiers at home in Indiana 64-59 behind 11 points from Traevon Jackson and 13 from senior forward Ryan Evans.
"It's huge you know," Jackson said to the Associated Press. "We'll celebrate for 24 hours and then we got to get ready for Iowa. Just got to get ready for another one."
Wisconsin is currently unranked, but has Indiana's number over the past few years. The Badgers have won 11 consecutive games in this series. According to ESPN.com, the streak matches the second longest streak of any school Indiana has played. The Badgers also won 11 straight over Indiana from 1912-19 and Purdue won 12 straight from 1908-14.
The Badgers are 13-2 this season and improved to 4-0 in the Big Ten, taking sole possession of first place after the win over the Hoosiers. Wisconsin sits ahead of ranked teams such as Michigan, Minnesota, Michigan State, Ohio State and Illinois.
According to ESPN.com, the Badgers are "the first team since 1923 to win a fifth consecutive game in Bloomington, matching a record achieved only three other times, most recently by Purdue, and they still have not lost to Indiana coach Tom Crean since he arrived in Bloomington in 2008."
"I really liked how hard our guys played, the adjustments our guys made on the court, I thought our assistant coaches did a great job in practice, getting us ready for this game because the head coach is a little under the weather," head coach Bo Ryan said. "It' like, Whoa!' I feel like someone just took me in the corner and worked me over."
Wisconsin has played extremely well over the past seven games and has earned two victories over top-15 teams in the past four days after also defeating Illinois 74-51 on Jan. 12. Indiana went up to No. 2 from No. 5 in the AP poll on Monday, but will likely fall back down after the loss.
The Hoosiers are the highest-scoring team in the nation with 85 points per game, but Indiana shot only 37 percent from the field against Wisconsin. Leading scorer Cody Zeller scored 23 points, including 18 in the first half, but it wasn't enough for the Hoosiers.
"We just weren't moving the ball like we should have, like we do, and I think when we see the film, we'll see that it's not as much them as it was us," Crean said. "I'm not taking anything away from them. They played well."
Indiana took a 35-31 lead early in the second half, but Wisconsin powered back, going on a 7-0 run to take a 38-37 lead. The Hoosiers went cold and the Badgers took advantage, going on a 9-0 run to take a 51-41 lead.
"They bait you with their drives and kicks," Crean said. "In the second half, they made shots and some of them reminded me of the Michael Jordan-Larry Bird McDonald's commercial."
Wisconsin looked as if they might not make the NCAA tournament in the Big 10 after falling behind a number of other talented teams, but it appears now that the Badgers are here to stay. The team is ranked 113th in points per game, but overcame that on Tuesday night by playing staunch defense and holding the Hoosiers to 20-of-54 from the field.
The Badgers have won seven straight games since losing 60-50 at Marquette and has a tough schedule the next couple weeks, facing off against ranked teams in Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State and Illinois. Following a matchup against Iowa, Wisconsin will take on Michigan before rematching with Minnesota and Ohio State.
The Hoosiers did not look good on Tuesday night and the schedule does not get any easier, with conference matchups against Michigan State, Penn State and Michigan on the horizon. Zeller has been leading the team in both scoring and rebounding and has scored in double-digits in nine straight games. He had a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds against the Badgers, but the rest of the team was off all night.
Indiana is still 3-1 in the conference, but if the Badgers continue their strong play, they could run the table and take the Big 10 title. Last season the Badgers went 26-10, finishing fourth in the Big 10 with a 12-6 record. The team went to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament, but lost to Syracuse.
