Indiana staying focused, studying hard for tournament matchup with Wisconsin
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- - Wisconsin enters the Big Ten tournament looking to get back on track when they face No. 10 seed Indiana on Friday at the Verizon Center.
The No. 24 Badgers, the second seed, were playing like a double-digit seed down the stretch. Wisconsin lost five of six games before beating Minnesota in the regular-season finale.
"It is good to get that confidence back in all of us," senior guard Zak Showalter told reporters. "Going forward into conference play, that is what we need. Hopefully, we can build on that."
"That was as good as we have been in a long time," coach Greg Gard said after beating the Gophers.
Wisconsin (23-8) appeared in the past 18 NCAA tourneys, the fifth-longest mark in the history of the event. The Badgers reached the 20-win mark 11 years in a row and have a winning record in conference play in the past 17 seasons.
Gard is 24-12 in conference play, the most wins of any Wisconsin coach in his first two seasons. The Badgers beat Indiana twice by a combined 12 points in the regular season while making only 4 of 17 3-pointers in the second meeting Feb. 5 in Madison, Wis.
The Hoosiers (18-14) advanced with a 95-73 victory over Iowa on Thursday in the quarterfinals with an impressive second half. Indiana fell two points shy of tying the conference tourney record for points in a game, set last year by Maryland.
"We have to attack their press," Indiana coach Tom Crean told the Big Ten network at halftime when his team was ahead by just 43-40.
The Hoosiers must have listened as they made 12 of 20 3-pointers and 13 of 19 free throws. Reserve De'Ron Davis came off the bench to score 15 points as he made all seven shots from the field while starting guard James Blackmon, Jr. had 23 points while taking just nine shots from the field.
Earlier in the day, Crean denied reports he was interested in the job at Missouri, according to the Indianapolis Star.
Now he gets ready for the Badgers.
"They're the most experienced team in the country," Crean said Thursday. "That's not by accident that they're so good. They play well together. They can shoot. They can post. They can rebound. They do a tremendous job of making it hard for you to find those gaps in their defense."
"So we'll go back to the film. I know the coaches are already prepared. Our coaches did such a great job. It's constant, but especially this week, with the focus on the guards, what Tim Buckley did, Thomas Bryant and De'Ron Davis, it's just fantastic.
"We have such a great group of people that are coaching these guys. It's not only an honor to work with them, it's an inspiration. I say that because we'll get prepared for this game, and our coaches will have a lot of insights. We've already discussed it as a group. We'll get back and start discussing it as a team tonight."
Said Blackmon of Wisconsin: "We know they're a great team, one of the top teams in our conference. We just got to carry out what we see in the film room, what our coaching staff gives to us, just like we did tonight really. Take it one game at a time."
The Badgers are paced in scoring by senior guard Bronson Koenig, who is averaging 14.2 points.
Ethan Happ, a sophomore guard, is averaging 13.9 points and 9.0 rebounds for Wisconsin. Happ is the only player in the nation who led his team during conference play in scoring, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals.
Senior forward Nigel Hayes is averaging 13.5 points and 6.2 rebounds.
Wisconsin is 22nd in the country with a rebounding margin of plus-6.5. The Badgers scored 288 more points in the paint than their opponents.
They are seeded second for the fourth time in the tournament and are 6-2 from that spot, including the 2004 title.
This is the first time the Big Ten tournament is being held in the nation's capital.
