On Tuesday at 9:00 ET, the second-ranked Indiana Hoosiers (15-1, 3-0 B10) will host the Wisconsin Badgers (12-4, 3-0 B10) with first place in the Big Ten Conference on the line.

As always, Jerod, Ryan, Zach, and Andy will be here with another episode of The Assembly Call after the game.

IU-Wisconsin Gameday Info

Date: Tuesday, January 15th

Time: 9:00 ET, 8:00 CT

TV: ESPN

Announcers: Mike Tirico and Dan Dakich

Point Spread: IU -11

KenPom Prediction: Indiana 72-61 with a 83% chance of winning

Peegs: IU Gameday

Inside the Hall

IU-Wisconsin live tweet coverage: @AssemblyCall

Assembly Call IU Postgame Show: https://assemblycall.com/live

IU-Wisconsin Preview

Wisconsin: Three Things to Watch

1. Three-Point Shooting

As has been the case the last few years, the Badgers are shooting over 37 percent of their shots from beyond the arc. In all, eight players have attempted at least 16 triples so far this season, and five of them are hitting at least 35 percent from long range, led by freshman Sam Dekker (41.8%), George Marshall (41.5%), and Ben Brust (39.5%).

Even so, the team’s outside shooting has been streaky this year. In Wisconsin’s four losses, the Badgers have gone 30-for-98 (30.6%) from beyond the arc, while they have made over 37 percent from deep in their wins. They came out on fire against Illinois on Saturday and finished 10-for-23 from long range in a blowout victory.

Indiana has done a solid job of limiting its opponents from three-point range this season, but they allowed Minnesota to make 11 three-pointers in Saturday’s win. The Gophers attempted a lot more threes than normal given the halftime margin.

Perhaps more concerning than the sheer volume of makes was the fact that Victor Oladipo fouled Minnesota on three three-point attempts. The Hoosiers obviously need to be aware of Wisconsin’s shooting prowess, but they have to close out under control to challenge shots without committing unnecessary fouls.

The other thing to watch for defensively is how much zone the Hoosiers will play. Given the individual matchups and Wisconsin’s willingness and preference to shoot threes, I’m not sure falling into a 2-3 zone is the best strategy in this one.

2. Rebounding

The Badgers have been among the nation’s best in defensive rebounding percentage throughout the Bo Ryan era, and this year is no exception. They rank in the Top 10 and are grabbing nearly 75 percent of their opponents’ misses. Since Wisconsin has little to no interest in pushing the tempo, they send pretty much everyone to the glass.

That being said, Wisconsin will have its hands full on the boards with IU coming in ranked just outside the Top 10 with a 40.3 offensive rebounding percentage. The Hoosiers grabbed 13 offensive boards against Minnesota, led by Victor Oladipo with four.

Unlike the past few seasons though, the Badgers have done a really solid job on the offensive glass as well and are currently ranked inside the Top 50 in OReb%. Jared Berggren and Ryan Evans have been the team’s top offensive rebounders, so it will be important for Cody Zeller and Christian Watford to stay aggressive on the boards.

The Hoosiers managed to outrebound a rugged Minnesota squad on Saturday, and a repeat performance would go a long way toward notching another key win.

3. Jared Berggren

This game will feature a matchup between two of the league’s top big men with Cody Zeller squaring off against Berggren, who leads the Badgers in scoring (13.4 ppg) and blocked shots (2.1 bpg) and is second in rebounding (6.4 rpg). He’s making over 60 percent of his two-pointers but also can step out and make threes.

Berggren has scored in double figures in 14 of 16 games, including the last six. His best performance came against Creighton when he went 9-for-14 from the floor en route to 27 points.

I was surprised to see Zeller not matched up against Trevor Mbakwe for stretches of Saturday’s game, but I have to assume he’ll draw the assignment against Berggren in this one. Foul trouble limited Zeller to just 19 minutes in the first matchup between the two teams last year, so it will be important for him to avoid a repeat performance.

On the flip side, it will be critical for Zeller to go right at Berggren on the offensive end in the hopes of getting Wisconsin’s top player into foul trouble of his own.

Indiana: Three Things to Watch

1. Bench Production

Since the start of Big Ten play, IU’s bench hasn’t been posting the types of numbers that most fans expected.

Against Iowa, Will Sheehey scored 13 points, but the other four reserves combined to go 1-for-5 from the field and 1-for-2 from the line, tallying three points, two rebounds, two blocks, one assist, and three turnovers in 26 minutes.

Things improved against Penn State, as Sheehey and Remy Abell combined for 15 points, while Jeremy Hollowell had three points and four rebounds in limited action.

On Saturday, Sheehey was held scoreless for just the second time since his freshman year, but he did manage to do a solid job defensively and came up with a couple nice hustle plays. The trio of Abell, Hollowell, and Hanner Mosquera-Perea managed just three free throws, two rebounds, and two turnovers while the starters rung up 85 points against the Gophers.

Obviously the Hoosiers have plenty of offensive weapons and can survive subpar performances from the bench as they showed against Minnesota, but there will certainly be games when they’ll need more from the reserves.

I don’t think anyone is too worried about Sheehey, but Abell needs to recapture the confidence and poise he showed early in the season. And as mentioned on a recent show, the Hoosiers need at least one of Hollowell, Perea, and Derek Elston (who continues to be plagued with injuries) to become a reliable frontcourt reserve.

We’ll see if this game provides any answers on that front.

2. Christian Watford

With a number of Hoosiers coming up big against Minnesota on Saturday, it’s easy to overlook Watford’s contributions. But for me, the Minnesota game only served to reaffirm my belief that he’s the team’s most important (albeit not best) player.

Again, he came out aggressive on the first possession and scored early, eventually finishing with 10 first half points. And while Watford’s scoring was great, his greatest value came on the glass as well as on defense.

Watford finished with nine total rebounds, including three on the offensive end, and he essentially played Trevor Mbakwe to a draw on the boards. Watford also did an outstanding job against Mbakwe on the defensive end, fighting him for position in the post and never backing down.

For a player who has been criticized for taking a passive approach at times, Watford was anything but passive on Saturday.

To a certain extent, it would be easy to look at Watford’s 4-of-11 shooting and question shot selection, but I never felt that Watford forced shots in the game. In fact, there were a few open three-pointers he passed up in the second half that I thought he should have taken. Either way, this wasn’t a case of him hunting shots or trying to do too much.

Against a talented and deep Wisconsin front line, Watford will be tested once again, but his recent performances indicate he’ll rise to the occasion. As I stated before the Minnesota game, if Watford can post about 12-15 points and eight rebounds, I like IU’s chances.

3. Second Half Slow Starts

The Hoosiers seem to have put their slow starts to games behind them, but unfortunately that issue appears to have migrated to the beginning of the second half instead.

Against both Penn State and Minnesota, IU has taken large leads into the break, but in both cases the team was very careless with the basketball in the opening minutes of the second half. The team racked up six turnovers in the first 4:01 of the second half against Penn State, and they had four turnovers in the first 3:39 against the Gophers.

Instead of putting teams away, these miscues have helped IU’s opponents hang around. Wisconsin is in the middle of the pack in defensive turnover rate, but in a game that should have fewer possessions (at least if the Badgers can keep the game at their tempo), the Hoosiers can’t be so careless with the basketball.

Final Thought

This Wisconsin team isn’t as talented or as dangerous as the Badgers teams that have given the Hoosiers fits these past few years, but that doesn’t mean this will be a cakewalk for IU either. In fact, IU last beat Wisconsin in January of 2007 (back when he who shall not be named was the coach), and the Badgers have won the 10 games since by an average of 15 points.

Bo Ryan lost Josh Gasser, his projected starter at the point, prior to the start of the season, but Traevon Jackson has been playing better in that role of late. And even with questions at the point, Wisconsin still has the lowest offensive turnover rate in all of college basketball, so the Badgers certainly won’t beat themselves.

They have plenty of frontcourt talent, including Sam Dekker, who was just named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week, and you can expect a methodical, physical game from Wisconsin, who will try to use Butler’s blueprint for beating IU.

Still, the Hoosiers have been outstanding at Assembly Hall over the last couple seasons, and the environment should be electric with first place in the Big Ten on the line. The team walked away confident but unsatisfied after Saturday’s uneven performance against Minnesota, and they are sure to be dialed in for this one.

I continue to be impressed with Yogi Ferrell’s development on both ends of the floor, and I expect another solid game from him at the point. With Watford locked in and Cody Zeller ramping up his production as well, I think the Hoosiers can at least play Wisconsin’s frontcourt to a draw. The Hoosiers should have an advantage in the backcourt with Ferrell, Jordan Hulls, and Oladipo all playing at a high level.

I simply can’t see myself picking against the Hoosiers at home, so put me down for a 10-point IU victory over the Badgers.

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Listen to Andy Tuesday on The Assembly Call. Follow him on Twitter at @AndyBottoms.