Indiana begins a two-game road trip Friday night with Wisconsin at the Kohl Center in Madison. The Badgers are 13-4 overall and 5-1 in Big Ten play.
Friday’s game will tip at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1:
Indiana’s struggles at the Kohl Center are well-documented. The Hoosiers have won once in the building – in 1998 – and have lost 19 straight to the Badgers in Madison.
In Mike Woodson’s first season as IU’s coach, the Hoosiers led by 22 points in the first half before collapsing in a 64-59 loss. Given how well Wisconsin plays in the building, Indiana’s struggles and the sizable gap between the performance of the two programs this season, the Hoosiers are staring down a 20th straight loss at the Kohl Center.
MEET THE BADGERS
After reaching the Final Four of the NIT last season, Greg Gard returned the nucleus of last season’s Wisconsin team. But Gard knew his team needed more offensive punch on the wing and smartly targeted St. John’s transfer AJ Storr.
The 6-foot-7 native of Rockford, Illinois, has proven to be the piece the Badgers needed. Storr is Wisconsin’s highest-usage offensive option and leads the team in scoring at 15.3 points per game. Storr is making 50 percent of his 2s, 32.3 percent of his 3s and is connecting on 84.7 percent of his free throw attempts.
The starting Badger backcourt consists of junior guards Max Klesmit and Chucky Hepburn, who are experienced returnees.
The 6-foot-2 Hepburn is 12th in the league in assist rate, fifth in steal percentage and averages eight points in a team-high 31.5 minutes per game.
Klesmit, a fourth-year junior, played two seasons at Wofford before transferring to Wisconsin before last season. He knows his role – take and make 3-pointers – and fills that role nicely. Klesmit is making 39.1 percent of his 3s this season and is connecting at a 47.8 percent clip in league play. He’s also an excellent free throw shooter (90.3 percent).
The starting frontcourt is the same as last season, with Tyler Wahl at the four and Steven Crowl at the five.
The 7-foot Crowl, also a fourth-year junior, is second on the team in scoring at 12 points per game and leads the Badgers in rebounding with 7.8 per game. Crowl ranks in the top five of the league in offensive and defensive rebounding percentage.
Wahl, a fifth-year senior, has stopped shooting 3s this season and his efficiency is way up. The 6-foot-9 forward averages 11.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and shoots an efficient 54.3 percent from…