Wisconsin Badgers faced off against Indiana on Thursday night. Badgers looked to keep their winning ways going against Indiana. It is amazing how little success Indiana had against Wisconsin since the mid-90s. Wisconsin lost 31 straight games against Indiana, and since then, it has been all Badgers. Hoosiers are a remarkable 1-18 at the Kohl Center. That is hard to do. And this game will stick with them as Wisconsin finds a way to win in double-overtime 80-73.

Player of the Game: D’Mitirk Trice – What a game from Trice. We talked about his uptick in performance in a past recap or two, and it’s continued. Trice finished the game with 21 points and seven assists. But more importantly, he hit the big shot to send the game to overtime. Trice has the ability to look unafraid out there. While I don’t think a clutch gene is a thing, it is apparent that Trice knows how to rise eeeto the occasion.

Honorable Mention: Tyler Wahl – The young sophomore continues to impress off the bench. All the hype this season was around guys like Johnny Davis and Ben Carlson, and with Carlson’s injury, Wahl has free range to be the backup wing for this team. And he’s doing a great job in that role. He hit two huge three-pointers in the second overtime to propel Wisconsin past Indiana. When Wisconsin can use their 8th or 9th guy to beat you in a double-overtime, that’s a deep team.

What went right for Wisconsin: They stood in the fight and kept fighting – Look, Indiana came here with a purpose to beat the Badgers. They were undermanned. Had not been playing that well of late, but Hoosiers threw the kitchen sink at Wisconsin. They looked on the cusp of winning, but Wisconsin found a way to get overtime. Then found a way again to force a second one. Then Wahl hits the big threes. They keep coming at you with punches until you say ‘no mas.’

What went wrong for Wisconsin: Are they taking the lesser Big Ten opponents too lightly? – It happens once, you shake it off. It happens again, you start to wonder. Wisconsin played a weak home game against Maryland. And honestly did the same against Indiana. They cannot let the middle to below-average part of the Big Ten trip them up. It is easy to do with the nature of the Big Ten this season.

Next up: Big one on Tuesday night when Wisconsin heads to Michigan to take on the Wolverines. Michigan is damn good and has been impressive so far this season. Yet they haven’t faced one of the big boys in the Big Ten. This will be a test. Hunter Dickerson against the Badgers’ bigs will be something to watch.

Charlie.