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Badgers down struggling Hoosiers

Jan 27, 2012 - 5:44 AM Madison, WI (Sports Network) - Wisconsin still has Indiana's number.

The 25th-ranked Badgers showed why they're considered the nation's best defense by shutting down the No. 16 Hoosiers en route to a 57-50 victory, their ninth straight over their Big Ten foe.

Ben Brust led Wisconsin (17-5, 6-3 Big Ten) with 13 points, Ryan Evans had 12 while Jordan Taylor and Mike Bruesewitz added 10 apiece in the defensive struggle.

"This team has a lot of fight in it," Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan said. "I just like the grit in this group."

Indiana (16-5, 4-5) was held to 30 points below its season average to lose for the fourth time in five games. Leading scorer Cody Zeller donated just seven points, while Verdell Jones III and Christian Watford each netted 12 in defeat.

The Hoosiers had not won at Kohl Center since January 25, 1998, but they led for the first 10 minutes of the second half before Brust's three-pointer gave Wisconsin a 41-39 lead.

A Watford trey gave Indiana a 46-45 edge a little later, but the visitors made just two field goals over the final five minutes. Free throws by Bruesewitz with 5:21 remaining gave the Badgers a lead they never relinquished.

Watford missed two free throws with 2:28 remaining, but made a jumper following a turnover to pull Indiana within one, 51-50.

Brust and Evans each pulled down offensive rebounds at the other end, with the latter making two at the foul line with 1:04 showing.

"We rebounded the ball well for most of the game, but they got the rebounds at the end," Hoosiers head coach Tom Crean said. "It was a contact sport at the end, and we struggled getting those balls."

Zeller airballed a contested baseline jumper, then was beaten on the glass by Bruesewitz, who secured Taylor's missed three-point attempt and made two free throws with 16.4 seconds on the clock.

Matt Roth's missed three-pointer at the other end sealed Wisconsin's fifth straight win.

The biggest lead for either team in the first half was six, 15-9, held by Indiana following an 11-point run.

The Hoosiers shot their season average in the first half -- 50 percent -- and took a 27-25 lead into halftime despite Zeller being held scoreless.

Game Notes

The Badgers' nine straight wins over Indiana are the most consecutive wins by any team against the Hoosiers since they won 11 straight from February 1912 to February 1919...Zeller was averaging 15.1 points coming in...Indiana shot 41 percent in the second half...The Badgers went 15-of-19 from the foul line, while Indiana made only half of its 10 free throw attempts.