BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — In breaking down the video of Indiana's 110-102 triple overtime win over Penn State, Wisconsin assistant Howard Moore had a flashback to his head coaching days when his Illinois-Chicago team went on the road and outlasted Youngstown State, 88-83, in three overtimes.
Four years later, the memory of his UIC players digging a little deeper and finding a way to pull it out was still fresh in the mind of Moore, who had a greater appreciation for what the Nittany Lions and Hoosiers experienced last Wednesday night during an emotional tug-of-war in Bloomington, Ind.
"Obviously, it wasn't the prettiest game with the amount of turnovers for both teams (39 combined, 23 by the Hoosiers)," Moore said. "But Indiana being at home, there was a little more energy (for the Hoosiers) and they found a way to get it done and come out of there with the 'W.'
"Three overtimes are hard. You could see that all the players were mentally and physical drained. It takes a lot out of you. But the main thing was Indiana's resiliency and it says a lot about their group. You saw that they have talent and they're going to come in here hungry."
Indiana (15-8, 5-5) and Wisconsin (19-3, 8-1) will square off Sunday at the Kohl Center where the Badgers have won 14 consecutive games in the series, dating to 1998. In their earlier meeting this season (Jan. 3), UW had four players in double figures and 23 points off turnovers in a 75-68 victory.
"The last game with them seems like it was an eternity ago," said Moore, mindful it was the second league game. "Both teams have changed quite a bit since then. I think we've improved in a lot of areas. We've become a better defensive team. They've found ways to overcome key injuries."
But the Hoosiers have been hard-pressed to do so. In August, they lost a "glue" player in Colin Hartman, who had knee surgery. More recently, they also lost 6-foot-8 sophomore OG Anunoby to knee surgery. Anunoby, who can guard multiple positions, went down in the first Penn State game (Jan. 18).
Indiana's leading scorer, James Blackmon, injured his lower leg in a 90-60 loss at Michigan (Jan. 26) and has missed the last two games. Blackmon, who's averaging 17.6 points, had ACL surgery prior to the start of Big Ten play last season. The Hoosiers have listed him as "out indefinitely."
In addition to the unexpected losses, the Hoosiers have struggled to replace the productivity of guard Yogi Ferrell who's finally getting his chance in the NBA. On a 10-day contract with Dallas, Ferrell hit nine 3's and scored 32 points on Friday night. An undrafted rookie, he had been in the D-League.
Obviously, it has been difficult to make up for Ferrell's explosiveness/play-making.
Three IU players, though, did respond with career highs in the triple-overtime win. Thomas Bryant had 31 points; Robert Johnson and Josh Newkirk had 27 apiece. Bryant and Johnson each had 11 rebounds while Devonte Green, the younger brother of Danny Green, had 10 points and 10 boards.
The Hoosiers out-rebounded the Nittany Lions, 56-35, and dominated the paint, 66-40. They also left 10 points at the free throw line (22-of-32) though Indiana's 6-10 freshman De'Ron Davis hit a couple of clutch ones with 3.9 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime.
Newkirk, a Pitt transfer, later scored on a driving lay-up to stave off defeat and force a second overtime at Assembly Hall. A lengthy video review was needed to confirm that Newkirk got the ball out of his hand a fraction of a second before time expired.
Penn State freshman Tony Carr made two free throws with 4.5 seconds left in the second OT to force yet another 5-minute session, which was dominated by Indiana, 17-9. Bryant had seven of those points before fouling out, one of five players overall with disqualifications.
The 6-10, 255-pound Bryant, a sophomore from Rochester, New York, played only 21 minutes in the first game against Wisconsin. He had six points (3-of-5) and three rebounds. By comparison, Ethan Happ was on the floor for 32 minutes and had 19 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, 1 steal and 0 turnovers.
"That's a great matchup — both kids are extreme competitors," Moore said of Bryant and Happ. "Obviously, Bryant plays with a lot more emotion — externally. But they both get a lot done. And they're both better from a year ago. Bryant has expanded his game a little bit."
As a freshman, Bryant was 5-of-15 from the 3-point. Currently, he's 16-of-38 (.421).
"He's one of the best big men in the Big Ten and now that's he's shooting 3s, it's something that you have to keep an eye on," Happ said. "They've been working the ball into him a lot more since the last time we saw them. With his length, he can finish over the top of you. It will be a tough test."
In last season's game at the Kohl Center (Jan. 26), Nigel Hayes had 31 points and Happ added 25 as Wisconsin beat Indiana, 82-79, in overtime to snap the Hoosiers 12-game winning streak. The Badgers had 38 free throw attempts to the Hoosiers 18 and outscored them, 28-16, at the stripe.
Ferrell had 30 points and Bryant had 16.
Simulating Indiana's tempo is always a challenge for the scout team. It was no different this week for the Badgers who had Jordan Hill in the lead guard role. "Jordan did a pretty good job of trying to be Newkirk," Moore said. "As far as pushing the ball, I thought the scouts gave us a decent look."
The Hoosiers have had 11 fast-break points to Wisconsin's 6 in each of the last two meetings.
"We have to make sure it's our tempo," Moore said.
