Indiana Upends No. 11 Badgers

Indiana can play defense, too.

The No. 21 Hoosiers held Wisconsin scoreless in the final three minutes for a 71-60 victory Wednesday night, ending the No. 11 Badgers' longest Big Ten winning streak in 58 years.

Wisconsin (19-4, 7-3), which came in as the conference leader in scoring defense, had won seven straight games and had allowed only one other opponent more than 70 points all season. But after the Badgers cut a 13-point lead to four, coach Bob Knight's trademark defense kicked in for the Hoosiers (18-7, 5-5).

Michael Lewis hit one free throw for Indiana's first point in more than three minutes, then added two more as Sean Mason, Wisconsin's leading scorer with 19 points, fouled out with 1:38 left. Kirk Haston and Lewis each added free throws and Lewis scored the game's final basket on a layup.

Knight went with a smaller lineup, including guard Rob Turner, who had a season-high 22 points, 14 in the first half.

"We started out with four guards and felt whatever guard their big guy was playing we could get some drives, and we got Turner off to a great start," said Lewis, who also had 10 assists. "He really got us going early in the game. He was able to take their big man outside and hit a couple 3's, make some drives and get some other guys open.

"That made them change their lineup a little bit and we just kind of went from there," Lewis said.

William Gladness, who entered the game after the first minute and played the rest of the way, had eight points and 14 rebounds, 12 of them in the first half when the Hoosiers seemed to take control. /P>

"The first thing you want to do is go to the boards, plus I was in there really by myself, big-man-wise," the 6-foot-8 Gladness said. "We had a lot of guards ... and they had to get back and pick up on transition and I was trying to go to the boards offensively and defensively."

Wisconsin, which had outscored its opponents by 12 points a game during its longest winning streak since it won 11 in a row in 1941, managed consecutive baskets only once in the opening half.

"It was partly because of poor shooting, partly because of their defense," Wisconsin coach Dick Bennett said. "We appeared overmatched in quickness. ... We looked a step slow and they looked very fluid, very aggressive, very confident. I think we got what we deserved."

After six early ties, a 3-pointer by Luke Recker started a 9-0 Indiana run as the Badgers went five straight possessions over the next six minutes without a score.

"Gladness was always around the glass," Bennett said. "He neutralized some of the stuff we like to do in the lane. His presence was very significant."

Two baskets by A.J. Guyton and one by Turner off an assist by Gladness gave Indiana a 27-18 lead, and the Hoosiers stretched it to 37-24 on a 3-pointer by Luke Jiminez before Andy Kowske and Jon Bryant hit consecutive baskets with just over two minutes left in the half.

Dane Fife's driving layup gave Indiana a 39-28 lead at the break. Indiana matched its biggest lead with a 3-pointer by Guyton for a 64-51 lead before Wisconsin's final rally.

It was the Badgers' first loss in six games this season against other Top 25 teams, and it extended their streak of losses at Indiana to 20 since a two-point victory in 1977.

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