Indiana's losing streak extends to 4 games after falling to Wisconsin

There are few things as consistent as peanut butter and jelly, but Indiana basketball losing at the Kohl Center is up there. 

For the 21st straight time in Madison, Wisconsin, the Hoosiers could not get it done as they fell 76-64 on Tuesday. Pair that with the four-game losing streak Indiana has, and the hump they are looking to get over only gets bigger. 

With 14:45 remaining in the game, Luke Goode found a wide open Anthony Leal on a baseline cut. Leal would blow the layup, which all but summed up the evening for Indiana. Between the 7-for-27 3-point shooting, losing the turnover battle again and allowing four Badgers in double figures, it was destined to be a long night in Madison. 

Basketball is a game of runs, and Wisconsin was responsible for nearly all of them. Despite the frigid Wisconsin air, it was scorching in the Kohl Center from the start of the game. Wisconsin opened up with a 13-2 run forcing the first timeout called by Mike Woodson. 

The double-digit deficit came within just three and a half minutes of game time. The Badgers kept their foot on the gas, as Indiana would not come within 10 points for the remainder of the game. 

It is hard to win on the road in the Big Ten, but even more difficult when it is a 20-point difference before the under-12 minute timeout even hits. Wisconsin possesses the seventh best offensive rating according to KenPom, and they flexed every bit of those muscles. 

Wisconsin came into this one leading the Big Ten in 3-point percentage in conference games (39.3%). Indiana has struggled to defend the deep ball this season, and the Badgers exploited that. 

The gates were wide open in the first half as the Badgers would go 9-for-16 from downtown, in which Indiana had no response. While they cooled off in the second period, Wisconsin finished the game 12-for-29 from 3 to keep Indiana well out of arm's reach. 

This was the ninth time this season an Indiana opponent converted 10 or more 3-pointers, as the Hoosiers fell to 3-6 in these games. The three wins came against Miami (OH), Providence and Chattanooga. 

Woodson’s crew is now on a four-game losing streak. This is the third separate time in his tenure that his team has lost four or more in a row. 

Any fight or momentum that the Hoosiers showed in their 81-76 loss at Purdue was sucked away on Tuesday night. Indiana is 5-7 in the Big Ten with eight remaining games. In a season with so much potential, the train is just barely still on the tracks.

Indiana returns home on Saturday to take on the Dusty May-led Michigan Wolverines. 

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