• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Wisconsin beats Indiana, asserts dominance in Big Ten

Feb 4, 2015 - 3:55 AM Madison, WI (SportsNetwork.com) - The proverbial gap between Wisconsin and the rest of the Big Ten was never more evident than in Tuesday's 92-78 victory over Indiana.

Frank Kaminsky led the fifth-ranked Badgers (20-2, 8-1 Big Ten) with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting, highlighting an offense that shot 60 percent from the field and 28-of-31 from the foul line.

Nigel Hayes scored 16 points, Bronson Koenig added 15, and Sam Dekker checked in with 14 points and six rebounds in Wisconsin's fifth straight win.

All five Indiana starters finished in double figures, with Nick Zeisloft hitting five 3-pointers en route to a team-high 17 points. Robert Johnson and Troy Williams netted 16 and 14 points, respectively.

The Hoosiers (16-7, 6-4) came in tied for second in the conference standings and were looking to snap a 12-game losing streak at Kohl Center.

Their upset hopes were quickly dashed when Wisconsin opened the second half on a 16-1 run. Dekker provided seven of those points, none more emphatic than a baseline slam while being fouled.

Zak Showalter's three-point play capped the surge and gave the hosts a 60-37 cushion, and another Showalter layup and free throw pushed the margin to a game-high 32 points, 76-44, with under 11 minutes to play.

"We were able to go on a run and kind of break the game open," Kaminsky said. "We gave ourselves a nice lead and were able to really push it out. We were in the driver's seat the whole game."

Four 3-pointers over the next five minutes actually pulled the Hoosiers within 14, but the difference was too much even for the Big Ten's No. 1 offense to overcome.

There was a brief Indiana spurt early on that offered a glimpse of a different outcome. After Wisconsin rattled off nine straight to open the game, Collin Hartman drained two 3s during a 13-2 run that lasted less than three minutes. Johnson's 3-pointer gave the Hoosiers their first and only lead at 13-11, but Wisconsin answered with 13 of the next 16 points and never trailed again.

Dekker's tip-in just before the buzzer gave the Badgers a 44-36 halftime lead.

"We got off to a slow start, we got it right back where it needed to be, and then we just didn't have the same activity and aggressiveness that we needed to have to start the second half," IU head coach Tom Crean said.

Game Notes

This is the third best 22-game start in Wisconsin history ... An ankle injury sidelined Indiana's second leading scorer, James Blackmon Jr. ... Indiana has not won in Madison since 1998, three seasons before Bo Ryan's tenure at Wisconsin began ... Indiana came in the No. 1 scoring team in the Big Ten (80.3 ppg) ... Wisconsin came in the No. 1 scoring defense in the Big Ten with (55.5 ppg) ... Josh Gasser scored 11 points and tied Alando Tucker for the most starts in Wisconsin history with 126.