No. 25 Wisconsin beats No. 16 Indiana 57-50

[January 27, 2012]  MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Ben Brust scored 13 points and No. 25 Wisconsin continued its recent rebound in the Big Ten, beating No. 16 Indiana 57-50 on Thursday night.

Ryan Evans added 12 points for the Badgers (17-5, 6-3), who had recovered from a rough start to conference play by winning their past five games -- including road victories at Purdue and Illinois.

Verdell Jones and Christian Watford scored 12 points each for the Hoosiers (16-5, 4-5), who have lost four of their past five games. The Hoosiers snapped a three-game losing streak with a victory at Penn State on Sunday.

Jared Berggren had a career-high five blocks for the Badgers, who have won nine straight over Indiana.

Wisconsin won despite going 4 for 17 from 3-point range.

The Badgers held Hoosiers freshman forward Cody Zeller to seven points on 2-for-7 shooting. Jones didn't score in the second half.

Mike Bruesewitz and Jordan Taylor had 10 points each for the Badgers. Taylor shot 5 for 14 from the field.

With Wisconsin leading 49-48, Josh Gasser found Bruesewitz open inside, and he slammed it home with both hands for a 51-48 lead with 2:47 left.

Then Watford missed two free throws -- but he got another chance after Wisconsin lost the ball. He hit a long jumper in transition, cutting the lead to one with 2:05 left.

Evans then came up with a critical rebound and was fouled. He made two free throws to put Wisconsin up by three with 1:04 remaining. Coming out of a timeout, Zeller missed inside for the Hoosiers.

Taylor missed but Bruesewitz came up with a rebound and was fouled. He hit two free throws to put the game away.

Indiana came into Thursday's game shooting 50 percent from the field this season, best in the Big Ten.

Wisconsin, meanwhile, has been even more reliant than usual on 3-point shooting. When the Badgers are on, they're tough to beat -- and when they're not, they have typically struggled, although they turned that around Thursday.

Indiana played to the scouting report in the first half, shooting 50 percent from the field and taking a 27-25 lead. Wisconsin was 2 of 8 from 3-point range in the first half, with Taylor going 0 for 3.

There was a fair amount of NFL star power in the stands, as Houston Texans defensive lineman J.J. Watt and former Green Bay Packers right tackle Mark Tauscher -- both ex-Badgers -- attended the game.

[Associated Press; By CHRIS JENKINS]

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