BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Yogi Ferrell did not have a strong start to the game, as it appeared that he was out of sync.

Ferrell was missing his shots. He even whiffed with an air-ball on his patented pull-up jumper.

That said, things clicked for the point guard in the second half. Ferrell was able to put his lackluster first half behind him and carried the team when they needed him the most.

Ferrell finished with 19 points, 15 coming in the second half, to lead all scorers as Indiana beat Wisconsin in a low-scoring matchup 59-58 at Assembly Hall on Tuesday night.

The senior said that the key to the game was the Hoosiers’ defense, due to the fact that Indiana was stagnant from the field.

“The main thing was us getting stops defensively,” Ferrell said. “We came together, had a collective mindset, and we wanted to get stops. We weren’t really converting on offense, but we weren’t scoring and they weren’t scoring, and we were just able to come out at the end of the game.”

Thomas Bryant’s evening played out opposite of Ferrell’s. The freshman center started off the game hot, scoring 10 points while only missing one shot. He also added five rebounds in the half.

However, he had a scoreless second half in which he only mustered two rebounds on the defensive end. Bryant said that it does not matter when he scores or how often, all that he cares about is whether or not the Hoosiers win.

“It doesn’t matter about me scoring points,” Bryant said. “As long as we get the win I don’t care.”

Turnovers remain a concern as the Hoosiers turned it over 19 times against the Badgers. Most of them came early, but Indiana also took care of the ball in crunch time. In the final 10 minutes of the game, the Hoosiers only turned the ball over three times.

The Hoosiers had a hard time getting to the line. In fact, it took 32:40 minutes for Indiana to get its first attempt at the line. The Hoosiers were a perfect 10 of 10 with their free throws, with Ferrell making six of them.

Indiana paid their respects to the 1976 undefeated championship team throughout the evening. Head coach Tom Crean said that playing in front of that group helped create a buzz in the crowd.

“The crowd was great,” Crean said. “There’s always a little bit extra any time a championship level team is in the building, and when you’ve got that team it’s quadrupled because of what they did. To say that all of us don’t feel that a little bit would be an understatement.”

Ferrell echoed that sentiment and said it meant a lot to win in front of the ’76 Hoosiers.

“That’s something I’m going to remember,” Ferrell said. “For an undefeated team that I currently play for that they previously played for, to come in and see us get a win in front of them, definitely means a lot to me and to my team.”

OG Anunoby had another strong outing. The freshman continued his ascent as he tied his career-high with 11 points. Anunoby remains perfect from deep in Big Ten play by draining all six of his 3-point attempts.

Crean has seen continued growth out of Anunoby.

“He’s an excellent defender, and his confidence is growing,” Crean said. “You can see that with the way he’s shooting the ball. He’s going to continue to get better.”

If Indiana wants to become a stronger team, they will need to develop stronger internal leadership. Bryant said that the Hoosiers are becoming a team that is starting to hold one another accountable.

“Coach got on us before,” Bryant said. “We get on each other now, and we don’t want to go into a game where it’s only offense carrying us. We’re an offensive and defensive team, too.”

Up next: Indiana takes on Ohio State on Sunday, Jan. 10 as the Hoosiers look to get their fourth-straight Big Ten victory.