Indiana hosts Wisconsin at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, looking to avoid the season sweep.
The Badgers defeated Indiana 91-79 on Jan. 19 in Madison, a game that included 26 points from Wisconsin's Max Klesmit and the ejection of Indiana's CJ Gunn. Wisconsin peaked at No. 6 in the AP top-25 poll on Jan. 29, but has lost five of its last seven games and fallen out of the rankings.
Here's a full breakdown of the Badgers
Key returners
(2023-24 stats)
- C Steven Crowl: 11.2 ppg. 7.7 rpg, 44.7 3-pt FG%
- F Tyler Wahl: 11.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 56.9 FG%
- G Max Klesmit: 9.6 ppg, 38.5 3-pt FG%
- G Chucky Hepburn: 8.3 ppg, 3.7 apg, 30.3 3-pt FG%
- G Connor Essegian: 3.5 ppg, 30.0 3-pt FG%
- F Carter Gilmore: 1.8 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 50.0 FG%
Key departures
(2022-23 stats)
- G Jordan Davis: 5.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 30.8 3-pt FG%
Key newcomers
(2023-24 stats)
- G AJ Storr (St. John's transfer): 16.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 30.2 3-pt FG%
- G John Blackwell (No. 212 freshman): 7.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 46.3 3-pt FG%
- F Nolan Winter (No. 151 freshman): 2.9 ppg. 1.9 rpg, 31.4 3-pt FG%
Schedule (18-9, 10-6 in Big Ten)
- W, 105-76 vs. Arkansas State
- L, 80-70 vs. Tennessee
- L, 72-59 at Providence
- W, 78-68 vs. Robert Morris
- W, 65-41 vs. Virginia (neutral site in Florida)
- W, 69-61 vs. SMU (neutral site in Florida)
- W, 71-49 vs. Western Illinois
- W, 75-64 vs. Marquette
- W, 70-57 at Michigan State
- L, 98-73 at Arizona
- W, 75-60 vs. Jacksonville State
- W, 80-53 vs. Chicago State
- W, 83-72 vs. Iowa
- W, 88-72 vs. Nebraska
- W, 71-60 at Ohio State
- W, 71-63 vs. Northwestern
- L, 87-83 at Penn State
- W, 91-79 vs. Indiana
- W, 61-59 at Minnesota
- W, 81-66 vs. Michigan State
- L, 80-72 (OT) at Nebraska
- L, 75-69 vs. Purdue
- L, 72-68 at Michigan
- L, 78-56 at Rutgers
- W, 62-54 vs. Ohio State
- L, 88-86 (OT) at Iowa
- W, 74-70 vs. Maryland
Mike Woodson's history against Wisconsin
- L, 91-79 at No. 11 Wisconsin on Jan. 19, 2024, in Madison
- W, 63-45 vs. No. 18 Wisconsin on Jan. 14, 2023, in Bloomington
- L, 75-69 vs. No. 15 Wisconsin on Feb. 15, 2022, in Bloomington
- L, 69-64 at No. 22 Wisconsin on Dec. 8, 2021, in Madison
Strengths
Wisconsin has a veteran roster with years of playing experience together. Chucky Hepburn, Max Klesmit, Tyler Wahl and Steven Crowl each have multiple seasons of starting experience. Ninth-year coach Greg Gard made one of the Big Ten's most impactful transfer portal moves, adding AJ Storr from St. John's. At 6-foot-6, Storr leads the team at 16.3 points per game and has improved the Badgers' athleticism on the wing. Though Storr's 3-point shooting is down about 10% to 30.2% this year, opponents still must respect his shot and he's a strong finisher at the rim.
As a team, Wisconsin ranks 17th in the nation in offensive efficiency. Klesmit leads the team in 3-point shooting at 38.5% on 4.3 attempts per game. They play at a slower pace, 320th nationally, but have the 64th-lowest turnover percentage. The Badgers make opponents pay when they get to the free throw line, ranking second in the Big Ten and 30th nationally at 76.4%. Defensively, Wisconsin has held opponents to just 7.4 offensive rebounds per game, third-best in the nation, and 29.9 total rebounds per game, 10th best.
Weaknesses
Teams shoot 36.3% on 3-point attempts against Wisconsin, the second-highest mark in the Big Ten and 35th nationally. Wisconsin also doesn't have a strong shot blocker, ranking 354th out of 362 college basketball teams in block percentage. Starting bigs Steven Crowl and Tyler Wahl combine to average just 1.1 blocks per game. Wahl's 0.6 blocks per game is 21st in the Big Ten, and the rest of the roster provides even less rim protection. That could be a problem against Indiana's offense, which focuses on getting the ball inside to Kel'el Ware and Malik Reneau.
Season outlook
Wisconsin looked like it might push Purdue for the Big Ten title as the calendar turned to February, but the Badgers have had by far their worst month of the season. They lost four in a row to Nebraska, Purdue, Michigan and Rutgers and have lost five of their last seven games since Feb. 1. Picked to finish fifth in the preseason Big Ten media poll, Wisconsin is now tied for third with Northwestern at 10-6, and Nebraska is close behind at 10-7. A Big Ten title is a pipe dream at this point, but Wisconsin should still safely make the NCAA Tournament, most recently projected as a No. 5 seed by Joe Lunardi.
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