Indiana Defense Collapses, CJ Gunn Ejected in 91-79 Blowout Loss At Wisconsin

Indiana got blown out again on the road, losing 91-79 to Wisconsin Friday night at the Kohl Center with plenty of defensive breakdowns. Wisconsin guard Max Klesmit shredded the Hoosiers’ defense for 26 points and five 3-pointers, and CJ Gunn lost his composure and was ejected for elbowing Klesmit in the chin.

MADISON, Wis. – The Kohl Center has been a house of horrors for Indiana for decades, and that continued Friday night as the Hoosiers lost to No. 11 Wisconsin in uninspiring fashion, 91-79.

Indiana’s winless streak at the Kohl Center extended to 20 games after Friday’s loss, with the last win coming in the arena’s inaugural season in 1998 when Indiana was coached by Bob Knight. The loss dropped the Hoosiers to 12-7 overall and 4-4 in Big Ten play. NCAA Tournament hopes remain bleak, as Indiana fell to 0-6 against Quad 1 opponents.

“It’s defense,” Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. “You ain’t going to beat nobody in the Big Ten, and that’s on me, 91 points is a lot of points. Yeah, we missed the big fella [Kel’el Ware] tonight to plug the hole, but we kept getting beat off the bounce a lot tonight and that generated a lot – they made 25 free throws, that’s a bit much. We’ve got to get that fixed.”

Indiana got off to a good start, with Malik Reneau making crafty moves in the post, Gabe Cupps sinking a mid-range jumper and Mackenzie Mgbako drawing free throws with an aggressive drive. On the defensive end, Indiana came out with a level of intensity that knocked the Badgers off their game. Wisconsin turned the ball over three times and shot 1-for-5 from the field going into the under-16 timeout.

That was the recipe for Indiana’s early 8-3 lead, but that kind of play was short-lived. Wisconsin committed just one turnover the rest of the half, and Indiana’s offense became stagnant. Outside of Reneau posting up, the scoring options became driving into traffic in the lane or shooting contested jump shots.

Indiana went into halftime trailing 39-26, and it never got much better for the Hoosiers. After going on a quick 9-0 run to cut Wisconsin’s lead to seven in the second half, the Badgers immediately responded with back-to-back 3-pointers from Max Klesmit, the second being an and-one. That snuffed out any glimmer of hope for an Indiana comeback.

“I think they’re trying to give effort,” Woodson said. “I just think the rotations are awful. When we’re playing well and we have good defensive runs, everybody’s on the same page. But we haven’t been able to put it together over a long period of time.”

Wisconsin Badgers guard Max Klesmit (11) scores a three point basket and is fouled by Indiana Hoosiers guard Trey Galloway (32) during the second half at the Kohl Center / Kayla Wolf-USA TODAY Sports

Frustration boiled over for the Hoosiers with 12:50 left in the game. As Wisconsin’s Kamari McGee dribbled the ball up the court, Max Klesmit bent over and put his head on CJ Gunn’s chest. Gunn responded by elbowing Klesmit in the chin, and the officials ruled it a Flagrant 2 foul and ejection.

“In the heat of battle, anything is liable to happen,” Woodson said. “I’m not happy about it. After looking at it, [Klesmit] put his head on his chest and [Gunn] threw a semi-elbow. I don’t think it was something hard that warrants being kicked out of the game.”

From that point on, it just got uglier for the Hoosiers. A 9-0 run pushed the Badgers’ lead to 23 points, their largest of the game. Senior guard Max Klesmit led Wisconsin with 26 points on 5-for-7 3-point shooting, followed by sophomore guard AJ Storr with 15.

Season-long issues for Woodson’s squad revealed themselves again. Defensively, the Hoosiers make it way too easy for opponents to find open 3-point shots, and Wisconsin made them pay. The Badgers hit 10-of-21 3-point attempts, which was tied for their second-most made threes of the season.

Offensively, Indiana still does not get enough production from its backcourt. Gabe Cupps started his third consecutive game at point guard and finished with seven points, his second-most of the season. But the 6-foot-2 freshman is not a difference maker offensively, and his failures on perimeter defense contributed to Wisconsin’s 3-point onslaught.

Team captain and senior point guard Xavier Johnson came off the bench for the third consecutive game after his ejection at Rutgers, and he wasn’t close to his best, either. Johnson finished with eight points on 2-for-4 shooting, and four of his points came at the free throw line.

“I thought he was better tonight,” Woodson said. “I thought he showed some signs of trying to lead and do the right things. We’ll look hard at it this week, see if he can earn his spot back. If he does, then we’ll probably have him back in the lineup. It all depends on how he comes to work and produces in practice to get where he needs to get.”

“We’ve just got to get some guard play for this team,” Woodson said. “Get them going.”

Reneau’s offense was about the only bright spot Friday night. He scored 28 points on 12-for-21 shooting, but a team-high three turnovers hurt the Hoosiers. Reneau didn’t have his usual front court mate Kel’el Ware, who wore a walking boot on the bench.

Woodson said Ware came down on someone’s foot in practice and turned his ankle, and he does not know when Ware will return. Payton Sparks got the start instead of Ware and scored seven points and grabbed two rebounds.

After picking up a 78-75 win at Michigan on Dec. 5, Indiana has played some of its worst basketball on the road in Big Ten play. The last three road games include an 86-70 loss at Nebraska, a 66-57 loss at Rutgers and Friday’s 91-79 loss at Wisconsin.

Next up, Indiana has a week off before traveling to No. 14 Illinois for a 3 p.m. ET game on Jan. 27. Under coach Brad Underwood, the Illini are 13-4 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten, with a home game against Rutgers on Sunday and a road trip to Northwestern on Wednesday before hosting the Hoosiers.