Badgers upset No. 2-ranked Indiana in Bloomington

The Wisconsin men’s basketball team upset No. 2 Indiana 64-59 in Bloomington Tuesday night.

The Badgers won their 11th straight game over the Hoosiers, and nine in a row against former Marquette coach Tom Crean.

Wisconsin also took sole possession of first place in the Big Ten at 4-0 in league play. They ended Indiana’s 11-game home winning streak, as the Hoosiers’ 59 points were a season-low.

Indiana was up by one point at the half. Wisconsin had a one-point advantage when Ryan Evans hit a jumper with 3:04 left, and the Badgers got some breathing room after that.

Wisconsin controlled the tempo throughout, with 12 assists to just eight turnovers. They tightened their defense in the second half, limiting the Hoosiers’ Cody Zeller to just 1 of 7 from the floor.

Zeller led all scorers with 23 points. He had 10 rebounds as Indiana ended a six-game winning streak. The Hoosiers dropped to 3-1 in the Big Ten, and 15-2 overall.

Four Badgers scored in double figures, led by Ryan Evans with 13.

Wisconsin won its seventh straight following its Dec. 8 loss to Marquette. The Badgers are now 13-4 overall. They play at Iowa on Saturday.

WIAC players of the week

Jordan Petersen of UW-Eau Claire and Sam Barber of UW-Stevens Point are the men’s and women’s basketball players of the week in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Petersen, a senior guard, averaged 14.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in a pair of conference victories for Eau Claire last week. He also had three assists in each game.

Barber, a senior guard, scored 33 points in 25 minutes in Stevens Point’s 88-57 win at UW-Stout. She had 25 points and seven rebounds against La Crosse with four blocked shots.

The WIAC also recognized Stephen Hanko and Mikayla Beuch, both of UW-La Crosse, in swimming, and Andrew Janny and Tessa Kahring, both of La Crosse, in diving.

Megan Love of UW-Whitewater and Brittany DeZiel of Stout were named players of the week in gymnastics, Adam Cardwell of UW-River Falls in men’s hockey, and Izzy Balsiger of La Crosse in wrestling.

Bucks lose to Lakers

The Milwaukee Bucks lost to a surging Lakers team in Los Angeles Tuesday night, 104-88. Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard each scored 31 points as LA won its second straight after a six-game losing streak.

Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni had Bryant cover point guard Brandon Jennings. Jennings said it was tightest full-court defense he’s faced as a pro. He only hit four shots in 14 attempts, and was limited to 12 points after averaging almost 25 in his last previous four games.

The Bucks were down by six going into the fourth quarter, when the Lakers pulled away with a 21-7 run. The Bucks were out-shot 50 to 36 percent, and lost despite pulling down eight more rebounds than LA.

Monta Ellis scored 17 for Milwaukee, which is 1-1 on its current road trip and 3-2 under new coach Jim Boylan. The Bucks remain above .500 overall at 19-18. They’re slipping in the Central Division race, at four games behind Indiana.

But the Bucks do have a four-game cushion at the moment for the eighth and final playoff spot in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. They’re just a game behind Boston for the No. 7 slot. The Bucks’ next game is Thursday night at Phoenix.

Tags: wi sports, sports, proam