LIVE BLOG: Follow Indiana's Game at Wisconsin in Real Time

Indiana is at Wisconsin on Wednesday night for the back half of their December Big Ten schedule. It's been a tough venue for the Hoosiers through the years. They've lost 18 straight games at the Kohl Center, dating back to 1998. Here's our live blog, with all your news and views live from press row in Madison.
LIVE BLOG: Follow Indiana's Game at Wisconsin in Real Time
LIVE BLOG: Follow Indiana's Game at Wisconsin in Real Time /

MADISON, Wis. — Welcome to the Kohl Center here in Madison, where the 7-1 Indiana Hoosiers are taking on the No. 22-ranked Wisconsin Badgers on Wednesday night. The Badgers are also 7-1.

This has been a tough place to play for the Hoosiers through the years. They've lost 18 games in a row here, dating all the way back to 1998, the first year of the building, when Bob Knight brought a team here. He won on Jan. 25, 1998, but lost in his next appearance and four other coaches have similarly failed here as well.

If you're not familiar with our live blog, we'll keep you updated on all the news and views from the game in real time, with the most recent items at the top. We'll add highlights and opinion too as we can.

Let's go!

9:02 p.m. — Xavier Johnson is fouled intentionally so Indiana can't attempt a three, but he misses the front end of a one-and-one. Free throwing once again killing Indiana. Chucky Hepburn fouled hard at the rim on the other side. He makes them both and Wisconsin leads 64-59. AND THAT'S A FINAL.

8:57 p.m. — Going to the monitor to see who's ball it is with 43 seconds to go. It stays with Indiana. Parker Stewart drives to the basket, but his shot is blocked by Tyler Wahl. Freshman point guared Chucky Hepburn is fouled intentionally, and makes both shots. Wisconsin leads 62-59 with 23 seconds to go. Jeez. 

8:55 p.m. — Johnny Davis hits a deep three from the right corner, and Wisconsin has its first lead since early in the first quarter. It's Wisconsin 60, Indiana 59 with 1:17 to go. Epic collapse for the Hoosiers, who had a 22-point lead at one point. 

8:50 p.m. — A huge offensive rebound by Race Thompson after another wild shot by Xavier Johnson. Indiana up 59-53. Johnny Davis makes two free throws, and then Tyler Wahl does the same for Wisconsin, and it's a two-point game. Jackson-Davis misses a floater, but Wisconsin misses a dunk on the other end. 

8:45 p.m. — Free throw shooting once again an issue for Indiana. Xavier Johnson misses two, and they're just 6-for-12 on the night. Missed back-to-back shots at the rim, too. There's 3:34 to go, and Indiana is hanging on by a thread, leading 57-52. Wisconsin at the free throw line with we come back from the timeout. 

8:40 p.m. — Trayce Jackson-Davis goes to the line for the first time all night, and makes 1-of-2. Indiana leads by 9. Lead down to 5 now.

8:34 p.m. — Michael Durr, the 7-foot transfer from South Florida, hits a 12-footer and Rob Phinisee scores to put Indiana up 56-44. Badgers answer with two straight buckets though, and Woodson can't wait any longer to the get the starters back in, so he calls timeout. INDIANA 56, WISCONSIN 48. 

8:28 p.m. — The lead shrinks to seven on three-pointer by Wisconsin's Brad Davison, but Indiana adds one more on a Jordan Geronimo free throw. Geronimo has made only 5-of-15 free throws this season, but he's 3-for-4 so far tonight.

8:23 p.m. — We've reached the second media timeout, and Indiana has a 10-point lead at 51-41. Indiana is just 4-of-12 shooting in the second half so far. There's 11:05 to go. 

8:20 p.m. — Wisconsin has four offensive rebounds this half already, and those second chances are getting them back in the game. The Indiana lead is down to eight points now, at 49-41.

8:13 p.m. — Wisconsin cuts the lead down to 13 on a basket at the rim by Chris Vogt. He's fouled too, and will go to the line when we come back from this first media timeout of the second half. INDIANA 47, WISCONSIN 34. 

8:05 p.m. — Indiana's biggest lead was 22 points in the first half. Johnny Davis opens the second half with a basket and the lead is now down to 15. On Indiana's first possession, Wisconsin point guard Chucky Hepburn picks up his third foul and heads to the bench.

7:58 p.m. — Wisconsin is No. 6 in the country in turnovers, averaging only 9.1 per game. They only have three tonight, but it's not making a difference. Indiana with its biggest halftime lead here in the history of the Kohl Center. 

7:50 p.m. — We're making the turn, and Indiana leads 42-25 at halftime. The Hoosiers have done a great job of keeping Wisconsin star guard Brad Davison in check. He played 17 minutes in the first half and scored only two points. He was 1-for-6 shooting and missed all three of his long balls. 

7:45 p.m. — Wisconsin prides itself on taking good shots, but they are just 8-for-30 from the field (26.7 percent) and just 1-for-10 from three. Indiana has a 22-point lead at 42-20. Hoosiers are dominating on the boards too, holding a 23-13 edge.

7:40 p.m. — We're at the under-4 media timeout now and the Hoosiers lead 36-20. Turnovers were the storyline heading into the game, and thus far, Indiana has only four. That's the best first half they've had all season. 

7:30 p.m. — Indiana 5-for-7 from three-point range, and Parker Stewart has hit all three of his shots. Hoosiers lead 36-17.  They've never had a 19-point lead in this building before.

7:20 p.m. — Wow! Indiana goes on a 19-2 run to grab a big 26-9 lead. Parker Stewart hit two three-pointers and Miller Kopp knocked one down as well. Kopp, who had 28 points against Syracuse but then none against Nebraska on Saturday, is off to a good start with seven points. Mike Woodson wanted that to be a priority and it's worked so

7:10 p.m. — We're at the first media timeout, and Indiana has a 9-7 lead. Baskets from four different guys for Indiana, and the Hoosiers are moving the ball well. 

6:55 p.m. — The game is on the Big Ten Network tonight, with Dave Revsine and Stephen Bardo on the call. The guys are here in the arena tonight. No remote broadcast. This is Bardo's fifth Indiana game this season. Here's our ''How to Watch'' story with all your gametime information. CLICK HERE

6:50 p.m. — For the ninth straight game, it's the same starting lineup for the Hoosiers. It's Trayce Jackson-Davis, Race Thompson, Xavier Johnson, Parker Stewart and Miller Kopp.

6:45 p.m. — Turnovers will be a likely story line in this game tonight. Wisconsin knows how to protect the basketball. The Badgers average only 9.1 turnovers per game, which ranks No. 6 in the country. Indiana, on the other hand, has had issues. They've had games with 27 and 26 turnovers already, and average 16.5 turnovers a game, which ranks No. 325 in the country out of 350 teams. The median turnover average nationally? It's 13.2 per game.

6:40 p.m. — Trayce Jackson Davis had 14 points against Nebraska on Tuesday and now sits an 1,117 career points, good for a tie for 42nd place all-time with Victor Oladipo. He passed two guys on the list on Saturday, Marshall Strickland (1,106) and Troy Williams (1,115). With four points on Wednesday, he'll pass Will Sheehey (1,120), with Cody Zeller (1,157) up after that. For the complete list of 1,000-point scorers, CLICK HERE

6:35 p.m. — Parker Stewart is the oldest player on Indiana's roster. He's 23 years old, and was born on July 5, 1998. Indiana has never won a game in Madison in his lifetime. That last victory there came on Jan. 25, 1998, five-plus months BEFORE Stewart was born. Andrae Patterson had 23 that night for the Hoosiers, and A.J. Guyton added 13.

6:30 p.m. — Pace of play will be important on Wednesday night. Indiana likes to get up and down the floor when they can to get a good look quickly, and the Hoosiers have averaged 75.1 possessions per game, the 26th-most in Division I. Wisconsin likes to grind it out, averaging only 65.6 possessions per game, which ranks 314th nationally.


Published
Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who has worked at some of America's finest newspapers as a reporter and editor, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the Indianapolis Star and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered college sports in the digital platform for the past six years, including the last five years as publisher of HoosiersNow on the FanNation/Sports Illustrated network.