BLOOMINGTON — Lamar Wilkerson knocked down a pair of free throws with 2.8 seconds left in overtime to give Indiana basketball a 78-77 win over Wisconsin on Saturday, Feb. 7.
Wilkerson scored IU’s final eight points going back to the end of regulation to help the Hoosiers (16-8, 7-6 Big Ten) find their footing after the Badgers (16-7, 8-4 Big Ten) erased an 11-point deficit down the stretch.
He led all scorers with 25 points and went 8 of 8 from the free-throw line.
Indiana basketball goes cold at the end of regulation against the Badgers
Indiana basketball’s 11-point second-half lead vanished during an extended scoreless drought. The Hoosiers closed out regulation without hitting a field goal over the final 5:32. They found themselves trailing for the first time all afternoon after John Blackwell knocked down a turnaround jumper in the paint with 1:48 to go.
Much of the Hoosiers’ offense down the stretch came from Sam Alexis at the rim — he scored nine straight points at one point — but no else stepped up as things tightened up on the scoreboard.
Indiana watched a similar lead vanish against UCLA, but the Bruins used a full-court press in that game to flip the script on the Hoosiers. Wisconsin simply outplayed IU down the stretch on both ends of the floor without having to change strategies.
Indiana basketball’s Tucker DeVries tried to get his mojo back against Wisconsin
Tucker DeVries knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to give IU a spark midway through the first half. On those two attempts, he matched his production from 3-point range during his team’s recent trip out to the West Coast.
DeVries has battled an extended shooting slump going back to early December while shooting just 34.7% from the field (27.6% from 3-point range) during that stretch.
Coming out of halftime, DeVries had a little bounce in his step while going on an 8-0 scoring run by himself to give Indiana a 52-39 lead. He fought through contact on a pair of drives through the lane then knocked down a 3-pointer in transition.
He had 16 points to give the Hoosiers a more balanced scoring attack.
Indiana basketball’s Conor Enright makes presence felt on both ends of the floor
Conor Enright hounded Wisconsin’s leading scorer Nick Boyd throughout the game and drew an offensive foul on Boyd to set up Wilkerson’s game-winning free throws. He chased after Boyd through screens and wouldn’t allow him any daylight while attacking the basket.
The effort was reflected in the box score with Boyd going 0 for 7 on layups.
Indiana fans have come to expect that kind of defensive effort from Enright, but he also showed rare aggression on the offensive end to finish with 11 points, his third double-digit scoring game of the season.
He took on Boyd in the paint on consecutive trips down the court in the second half and scored both times.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Lamar Wilkerson leads Indiana basketball to OT win over Wisconsin