Indiana Opens As Modest Underdog At Wisconsin on Wednesday Night

Indiana gets its first Big Ten road test of the season on Wednesday night when it takes on the Wisconsin Badgers at the Kohl Center in Madison. The Hoosiers have lost 18 straight games in the building, dating back to 1998, and oddsmakers are predicting another loss. Here's the latest on the point spread.

MADISON, Wis. — Indiana gets the back half of their December Big Ten swing on Wednesday night, traveling to Wisconsin for a hook-up with the No. 22-ranked Badgers at the Kohl Center.

The Hoosiers haven't won here since 1998, losing 18 straight games in the building, and oddsmakers believe that streak will continue. According to the SISportsbook.com gambling website, Wisconsin is a 4.5-point favorite.

The Hoosiers are 7-0 at home this season, but suffered its first loss on Nov. 30 at Syracuse, a 112-110 double-overtime thriller where they lost as 2.5-point favorites. Dating back to last year, the Hoosiers have lost five straight road games, with the last win coming against Northwestern on Feb. 10, 2021, a 79-76 double-overtime win. 

Indiana lost 80-73 in double-overtime at Wisconsin on Jan. 7 last season. Trayce Jackson-Davis had 23 points in the loss. The Badgers' top two players this season — Johnny Davis and Brad Davison — didn't do a lot in that game. Davison had nine points in 42 minutes, and Davis scored just six points on 2-for-11 shooting

Indiana is 5-3 against the spread so far this season. Here are there results so far:

• Nov. 9 — Beat Eastern Michigan 68-62 as a 24-point favorite (lost)
• Nov. 12 — Beat Northern Illinois 85-49 as a 25.5-point favorite (won)
• Nov. 17 — Beat St. John's 76-74 as a 6-point favorite (lost)
• Nov. 21 — Beat Louisiana 76-44 as an 11.5-point favorite (won)
• Nov. 23 — Beat Jackson State 70-35 as a 22.5-point favorite (won)
• Nov. 27 — Beat Marshall 90-79 as a 10.5-point favorite (won)
• Nov. 30 — Lost to Syracuse 112-110 as a 2.5-point favorite (lost)
• Dec. 4 — Beat Nebraska 68-55 as an 11-point favorite (won)

Wisconsin is 7-1 so far this season, and the pleasant surprise among Big Ten teams. After losing six players in the offseason, the thought was that the Badgers might struggle this season, but that hasn't happened. They beat Texas A&M, then No. 12 Houston and St. Mary's to win the Maui Jim Maui tournament in Las Vegas, and has beaten Georgia Tech and Marquette in the past week.

Wisconsin is 6-2 vs. the spread this season. 

Wednesday's game with Wisconsin starts at 7 p.m. ET and is being televised on the Big Ten Network. Here is our ''How to Watch'' story, with gametime and TV information, the starting lineups and lots of nuggets on the matchup. CLICK HERE

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• FIXING TURNOVERS: One of the biggest issues that has been haunting Indiana so far this season is turnovers. They had 26 against Syracuse. Coach Mike Woodson knows the Hoosiers have to clean up that area. CLICK HERE
• BIG TEN WINS CHALLENGE: Michigan State and Wisconsin won on Wednesday, helping the Big Ten to win the ACC/Big Ten Challenge for the third straight year. Here are summaries of all 14 games. CLICK HERE
• 1,000-POINT SCORERS: There have been 54 players at Indiana who have broken the 1,000-point barrier, with Trayce Jackson-Davis being the most recent member of the club. He's got 1,103 points now, and is up to No. 45 on the list. Here's the complete updated list. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA SCHEDULE: Here is the complete schedule for Indiana's 2021-22 men's basketball season, with links to game stories and Tom Brew columns from the games already played. CLICK HERE