It took several missed Shaun Pruitt free throws in crunch time, and a huge performance by Armon Bassett in the second overtime but Indiana found a way to pull off a huge victory Thursday night at the other Assembly Hall.

Bassett, who had five points in regulation and the first overtime combined, scored 11 points in the second overtime, including all eight of his free throws, to lift No. 14 IU to a come-from-behind 83-79 victory over the Illini.

“He hit some big shots for us but none were bigger than all of those free throws,” said IU coach Kelvin Sampson. “Last year when we won at Connecticut, Armon hit four big free throws at the end to win that game. All I can say is it was good to see him at the free throw line tonight at the end of the game.”

It was Indiana’s first victory in Champaign since 1999, and gave the Hoosiers a sweep of Illinois for the 2008 Big Ten season. It was also the fifth victory in six road games for Indiana (19-3, 8-1 Big Ten) including four of five in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers kept pace with Purdue and Wisconsin with only one Big Ten loss.

Illinois (10-14, 2-9) appeared to have the game in hand at several points. The Illini led by as many as 12 in the second half, and by three with 40.6 seconds to play in regulation. But Eric Gordon, who was limited to one point in the first half, banked in a 3-pointer from the left wing with 23.7 seconds remaining to tie the score at 63.

Eventually the Illini’s season-long inability to make free throws caught up with them. Illinois, ranked 10th in the Big Ten in foul shooting at 60 percent, missed a chance to take the lead with 4.2 seconds remaining when Pruitt missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity.

At the end of the first overtime, with the scored tied at 69, Pruitt was fouled on an inside putback by Gordon with 2.2 seconds remaining and had two shots to give Illinois the lead. But he missed both and the game went into a second OT.

“I feel bad for Shaun,” Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. “I thought he gave us pretty good effort. D.J. (White) is good and he battled him inside. And it was a shame for him and for kids that he couldn’t make one of those free throws.”

Pruitt had 13 points but was 1-of-7 from the free throw line. Illinois finished 8-of-17, 47.1 percent.

In the second overtime, Bassett hit an early 3-pointer to put IU up 74-71 with 3:33 to play, and the Hoosiers never trailed again. Illinois cut the lead to two on a couple of occasions but Bassett kept making his foul shots to keep the Illini at bay.

His two free throws with 5.2 seconds to play put the game away at 83-79. IU finished 22-of-29 from the free throw line (75.9 percent).

For the first 20 minutes, things went about as poorly as possible for Gordon.

In 17 minutes, he missed all four of his shots from the field, was the victim of an offensive foul, had two turnovers and managed one point from the foul line. Illinois fans were clearly in his head in his return game to the place where he once gave his oral commitment before changing his mind and deciding to play at Indiana.

But he bounced back to score 17 points in the second half and added a free throw in the second overtime. He finished with 19 points on just 3-of-13 shooting from the field, and 10-of-12 from the free throw line.

D.J. White had 16 points and nine rebounds and Jordan Crawford added 18 points, on 4-of-6 3-point shooting, for the Hoosiers.

Freshman Demetri McCamey kept the Illini close with a career-high 31 points. McCamey, who had scored in double figures just four times in 24 previous games this season, was 11-of-20 from the field including 7-of-13 from 3-point range.

Not even Chris Webber could fix the problems that bedeviled the Golden State Warriors in his first game back. The veteran forward wasn’t even sure he could identify what went so terribly wrong in the Chicago Bulls‘ improbable victory.

He left that diagnosis to his teammates and coaches, who all pointed out the gaping defensive void that the Bulls walked through to victory.

Chris Duhon scored a career-high 34 points, Joe Smith had 27 and the undermanned Bulls hung on for a 114-108 victory Thursday night, spoiling Webber’s return to Golden State after a 13-year absence.

Webber had four points and two assists in 12 minutes in his first game with the Warriors since the former No. 1 overall draft pick forced a trade after his tumultuous rookie season in 1994. Wearing an orange headband and his familiar No. 4, Webber was introduced to mild applause in Golden State’s starting lineup.

“It felt good to be out there and get that first foul,” said Webber, who missed shots on Golden State’s first two possessions. “Not the result, but it felt good. Nervous is good. I think it was anxiousness more than being scared.”

The Bulls had plenty of reason to be frightened in their fourth road game in six nights while playing without three of their top four scorers. Instead, they produced one of their gutsiest efforts of the season, led by Duhon’s superb performance as the only true guard in Chicago’s eight-man rotation.

With Ben Gordon, Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich all sidelined, Duhon’s 11-of-16 shooting, four 3-pointers and nine assists carried the Bulls early as they somehow stayed in front of the well-rested Warriors. Tyrus Thomas then took over late, getting 13 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter as the Bulls scored on nine of 10 possessions down the stretch.

“I took open shots, got my rhythm, and they continued to keep falling,” Duhon said. “Being the only guard tonight, it gives you extra confidence knowing that you could be a little bit more aggressive. Even if you miss a few shots and make a couple of mistakes, Coach is going to continue to keep playing you, so you just play a little bit more loose and don’t play mind games with yourself.”

That mentality worked for all eight Bulls. With steady production from a slow-paced offensive plan in a 37-point fourth quarter, Chicago won in Oakland for the first time in nine tries since Jan. 30, 1998, during Michael Jordan’s final season with the club.

“We really needed this one,” said Thabo Sefolosha, who had nine points and seven rebounds. “It was a close game, and we were able to finish it. A lot of players stepped up and brought a lot of things to the team. It’s great when the team plays like that, fighting together for wins.”

Al Harrington, who’s likely to lose playing time to Webber, had 20 points and hit four 3-pointers, but Baron Davis‘ 8-for-24 outing and Stephen Jackson’s 6-of-19 performance doomed the Warriors to just their second loss in six games. Monta Ellis led Golden State with 25 points, while Davis had 22 and Jackson 19.

“There’s no excuse to lose this game when their three best players aren’t even playing,” Jackson said. “Our defense was terrible. I don’t know what it was. I think (Duhon) just wanted the game more than we did, and then when they’re giving it to Tyrus Thomas in the fourth quarter to score buckets and he’s delivering, you’re not going to win.”

After Davis hit a layup to pull Golden State within 101-100 with 2:16 left, Chicago scored the next seven points — all on free throws, including four by Smith, another former No. 1 pick (1995) who didn’t do much for the Warriors.

“I don’t think the guys are quitting, I think the guys are stepping up,” Chicago coach Jim Boylan said. “We’re down quite a few players, but we’re not letting that change the way we’re playing. The guys that we have are coming out and playing hard and taking advantage of their opportunities to get some serious playing time.”

After Portland held off Chicago, Martell Webster teased teammate Brandon Roy, poking him with a tape recorder and getting right in his mug before giggling.

Nothing like a win to bring out the pranksters, but Roy tried to keep it in perspective.

“You can sense that guys are getting ready for the All-Star break and some rest, but we’ve got to fight through,” Roy said.

Roy scored 28 points and LaMarcus Aldridge 18 points for the Blazers, who led Chicago by as many as 13 points in the second half.

Chicago threatened in the final minutes. Ben Wallace’s dunk with 2:01 left narrowed it to 91-88, but Travis Outlaw kept the Blazers out in front with a pair of free throws.

After Tyrus Thomas‘ hook shot closed the gap again for Chicago with 1:14 left, Outlaw answered with his own hook shot to make it 95-90 with 26.9 seconds to go.

Thabo Sefolosha, who had a career-high 22 points, made a layup for the Bulls to pull close again.

After Jarrett Jack made just one of two free throws for the Blazers, Chris Duhon hit a baseline jumper to make it 96-94 with 7.2 seconds left. Jack then went back to the free-throw line, this time making both shots.

Andres Nocioni’s 3-pointer closed it to 98-97 with 0.8 seconds left, but officials had to rule whether Duhon’s foul on Roy came before the buzzer.

The officials added 0.5 seconds to the clock, Roy went to the foul line and made both of his shots for the final margin.

Nocioni also had 22 points for the Bulls.

Chicago guard Kirk Hinrich wasn’t in the lineup because of bruised ribs. Hinrich, averaging 13 points, six assists and 3.5 rebounds, was injured in Chicago’s 118-108 victory at Seattle on Monday. Duhon started in his place.

Ben Gordon also didn’t play because of a sprained right wrist. The guard had 20 points against the SuperSonics and was averaging 20 points, but has struggled of late with his wrist.

I knew our guys would give a great effort tonight being short-handed,” Bulls interim coach Jim Boylan said. “We came up short, but we had our chances down the stretch.”

Thomas returned after missing the game against the SuperSonics with a sprained left foot.

Portland coach Nate McMillan shook up his starting lineup, going with Jack as shooting guard and Roy at small forward. The change wasn’t because of poor play, but because the Blazers have been forced to reshuffle their rotation with the absence of 3-point shooter James Jones, who’s out until after the All-Star game to rest a sore left knee.

The Blazers, who had a 13-game winning streak in December but cooled off considerably in January, next head out on a four-game road trip starting at Detroit on Friday night.

“It’s a good feeling to come out of here with the win, especially when you’re getting ready to go out on the road for a week,” Webster said.

And Roy got Webster back for the microphone-in-the-face routine.

“We’ve just got to stay focused. Right now, Martell is having a hard time getting focused. Hopefully he’ll be ready tomorrow,” Roy said jokingly.

Joakim Noah’s dunk late in the first quarter tied it at 21 before the Blazers began to pull away. Portland answered with a 14-3 run to lead 35-23.

Aldridge’s dunk made it 41-29, and the Blazers went on to lead 49-43 at the half.

The Bulls gained ground in the second half, closing within 66-62 on Nocioni’s 3-pointer. But Roy came back with an off-balance, falling-down jumper, and Webster followed with a dunk to make it 70-62.

“I think we did pretty good and we played hard and we played with heart,” Sefolosha said. “I don’t really see what we could have done different.”

Purdue celebrated its first national ranking in four years with a win.

Robbie Hummel scored 17 points and E’Twaun Moore added 16 to help the 24th-ranked Boilermakers beat Penn State 67-53 on Tuesday night.

Purdue coach Matt Painter said his young team handled the pressure of being newly ranked well.

“I think we did a good job of just focusing on Penn State,” he said. “We didn’t talk about the ranking much, except to say once you get ranked, you want to stay ranked. It means you’re playing good basketball.”

Marcus Green scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half for the Boilermakers (18-5, 9-1 Big Ten), who won their eighth straight to move into sole possession of first place in the league.

Mike Walker scored 12 points and Danny Morrissey added 11 for Penn State (11-11, 3-7).

The win gave the Boilermakers their best conference start since the 1989-90 season.

Moore, a freshman guard, had his second consecutive strong outing. He scored 20 points in the second half of a win at Illinois last Saturday. Painter was impressed that he got his 16 points on just six field-goal attempts.

“He’s been very efficient lately,” Painter said. “It’s not just scoring the ball, it’s taking care of the basketball, getting assists, not having many turnovers. He’s picking his spots.”

Green, a reserve, scored 15 points against Illinois.

“He’s ben very consistent for us the last couple of weeks,” Painter said. “He played strong, he played solid and he made some big plays.”

Balanced scoring has been one of Purdue’s best qualities all season. The Boilermakers have had four different leading scorers during the winning streak.

“That’s what’s special about them,” Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. “They can beat you in so many ways. They have six or seven guys that can beat you on any given night.”

Purdue won despite losing reserve forward Scott Martin midway through the first half with a sprained right ankle.

Penn State was coming off a win against then-No. 8 Michigan State on Sunday. The Nittany Lions couldn’t duplicate that success against Purdue because of 38 percent shooting in the second half. The Nittany Lions also shot 36 percent from the free throw line.

Purdue won both games against Penn State this season and its fourth straight overall in the series. The Boilermakers won 64-42 at Penn State on Jan. 23

Purdue led 39-36 before Green scored on a putback and was fouled by Jamelle Cornley. Green made the free throw, and Cornley left the game for good with a bloody lip. Cornley finished with eight points and six rebounds.

Purdue led 48-43 before going on an 8-0 run during which four different players scored. Purdue held the Nittany Lions scoreless for nearly 5 minutes during that stretch. The final points during that run were two free throws by Hummel with 7:19 to play that gave the Boilermakers a 56-43 lead. The Nittany Lions never came closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

“We went in at halftime and just made a point to have more energy,” Green said. “Turn up the intensity and let the crowd get into it.”

Purdue led 33-23 on a jumper by JaJuan Johnson with 2 minutes left in the first half, but Penn State closed with a 7-0 run to cut Purdue’s lead to 33-30 at halftime. Penn State shot 57 percent in the first half, but committed 12 turnovers.

Painter said the Big Ten start is impressive, but there’s more to accomplish.

“We have beaten some tough teams,” he said. “I’m proud of our staff and players, and we’re going to stay the course. It’s not a 10-game conference season. We have a lot of basketball left to play.”

A cortisone shot and three miserable days in bed without any desire to eat. That was Joe Smith’s unlikely prescription for a big night.

Smith returned to the starting lineup to score 25 points and the Chicago Bulls defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 118-108 on Monday night. He had been sidelined for two games last week with a sore knee and then the flu.

“Constant headache. Sore throat. Chest pains. Shivers. Sweats,” the 12th-year veteran said of what he had in the days before Chicago’s second victory in six games.

“I’m still fighting it a little bit.”

Tell that to Seattle. Its soft interior defense made Smith look like the healthiest man on the floor

Then again, the passive Sonics made almost everyone in a Bulls jersey look great. After a three-game spate of unusual defense spawned a season-best three-game winning streak, Seattle reverted to the usual, slacking ways that made it tied with Denver as third-worst in the league in allowing points (103.9 per game) entering Monday.

The Bulls, still playing without second-leading scorer Luol Deng and Monday’s final quarter without slashing point guard Kirk Hinrich, also got 20 points from Ben Gordon. Hinrich added 15 points before leaving with a rib injury, while Andres Nocioni and low-scoring rookie Aaron Gray each had 14 in Chicago’s third-highest scoring game of the season.

“They are not overly talented, so to speak, but they keep coming after you,” said Wally Szczerbiak, who led Seattle with 21 points off the bench.

“If you’re not ready to play, they are going to punch you in the mouth. We can really learn a lot from this team.”

Chicago interim coach Jim Boylan said Hinrich, who also had five assists and repeatedly pushed the ball into Seattle’s soft middle before he left, was to stay in Seattle to get tests at a hospital instead of joining his teammates on the postgame flight to Portland. The Bulls play there Wednesday.

“I don’t know the extent of the injury. I think they are just being cautious,” Boylan said.

Seattle, which also got 20 points from rookie Kevin Durant, still hasn’t won four in a row since April, 2006.

We got outplayed at every position,” said Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo, who added he was “very disappointed.”

“If you score 108 points, you should be able to win the game. We scored 108 and weren’t even in it.”

Boylan said he wanted to start Smith, who had scored nine points in 16 minutes off the bench Saturday at Sacramento while admitting he still felt sick, because he wanted the 12th-year veteran’s scoring early in games. That is especially true with Deng still out indefinitely with an Achilles injury.

Joakim Noah had averaged 10 points while starting the previous three games for Smith, but Boylan said he likes Noah’s rookie energy coming off the bench.

Smith roamed free while getting eight points in the first eight minutes and 14 in all in the first half, as Chicago twice built 10-point leads.

Seattle got no closer than to within five after halftime. Earl Watson made a 3-pointer and Kurt Thomas scored his only basket of the night to begin the second half. Consecutive 3-pointers by Nocioni and Hinrich plus a layup by Smith put the Bulls back up 64-54.

When Seattle got to within 77-71 late in the period, Gordon converted a three-point play and Noah had a tip-in and free throw to make it 82-71.

And when Luke Ridnour’s 3-pointer got Seattle to within 91-84 with 8:41 left, Chris Duhon answered with consecutive, long 3’s — his first two baskets of the game. Smith’s easy layup while roaming free in the lane had Chicago cruising 103-91 with four minutes remaining.

Smith was 9-for-18 shooting, after making just 2 of 12 in his previous start, Jan. 27 in a loss to Phoenix.

“I was knocking down shots before the game, in warmups,” Smith said. “I knew this might be a good one.”

With the Super Bowl on the line, look who had the perfection thing down Pat: Eli Manning and the road-conquering New York Giants.

And what a beauty their 11th straight road victory was, a 17-14 Super Bowl win Sunday that shattered the New England Patriots‘ unblemished season.

In one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history, Manning, New York’s unlikely Mr. Cool, hit Plaxico Burress on a 13-yard fade with 35 seconds left. It was the Giants’ fourth consecutive postseason away win and the first time the Patriots tasted defeat in more than a year.

“There’s something about this team,” Manning said. “The way we win games, and performed in the playoffs in the stretch. We had total confidence in ourselves. The players believed in each other.”

It was the most bitter of losses, too, because 12-point favorite New England (18-1) was one play from winning and getting the ultimate revenge for being penalized for illegally taping opponents’ defensive signals in the season opener against the New York Jets.

“I don’t rank them,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “It’s disappointing.”

The Giants had the perfect answer for the suddenly imperfect Patriots: a big, bad defense and the improbable comeback led by Manning. Yes, Eli Manning, who outplayed league MVP Tom Brady and furthered the family legacy one year after older brother Peyton led Indianapolis to the title.

“I talked to Peyton and he said, `Go in there, have some fun, you can do it.”‘

It was how Eli and the Giants did it.

After Brady found Randy Moss for a 6-yard touchdown with 2:42 to go, New England’s defense couldn’t stop a final, frantic 12-play, 83-yard drive. It featured Manning’s unlikely sack-avoiding scramble and a spectacular leaping catch by David Tyree, who had scored New York’s first touchdown on the opening drive of the fourth quarter.

“It’s the greatest feeling in professional sports,” Burress said before bursting into tears.

“That’s a position you want to be in,” said Manning, who followed Peyton’s MVP performance last year with one of his own. “You can’t write a better script. There were so many big plays on that drive.”

AP - Feb 3, 11:30 pm EST More Photos

And now the 1972 Miami Dolphins can pop another bottle of champagne in celebration of a record still intact, the NFL’s only perfect season.

“As for the 1972 Dolphins, I don’t take joy in the fact the Patriots lost — period,” said Jim Mandich, the tight end on the 17-0 team. “But I do relish and savor the fact that there has only been one unbeaten team in the history of the NFL, and it is the 1972 Miami Dolphins.”

The Patriots were done in not so much by the pressure of the first unbeaten season in 35 years as by the pressure of a smothering Giants pass rush. Brady, winner of his first three Super Bowls, was sacked five times, hurried a dozen more and at one point wound up on his knees, his hands on his hips following one of many poor throws in New England’s lowest scoring game of the season.

“They played well,” a dour Belichick said. “They made some plays. We made some plays. They just made a few more. We played as hard as we could. We just couldn’t make enough plays.”

Hardly a familiar position for the record-setting Patriots and their megastar quarterback. This time, it wasn’t the Patriots but the Giants making the game-winning rally. This time, the unflappable quarterback making the clutch play wasn’t Brady but Manning, who had been booed by Giants fans for most of his four seasons for a lack of emotion.

Oddly, it was a loss to the Patriots that sparked New York’s stunning run to its third Super Bowl and sixth NFL title. New England won 38-35 in Week 17 to finish the spotless regular season. But by playing hard in a meaningless game for them, the Giants (14-6) gained something of a swagger and Manning found his footing.

Their growing confidence carried them through playoff victories at Tampa, Dallas and Green Bay, and then past the mightiest opponent of all.

“Every team is beatable, you never know,” Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. “The right moment, the right time, every team is beatable.”

Not that the Patriots were very mighty this day. They even conceded with 1 second on the clock as Belichick ran across the field to shake the hand of Coughlin, then headed to the locker room, ignoring the final kneeldown.

That it was Manning taking that knee was stunning. He showed the maturity and brilliant precision late in the game usually associated with, well, Brady.

Peyton Manning was seen in a luxury box jumping up and pumping both fists when Burress, who didn’t practice all week because of injuries, caught the winning score.

“We just hung in there on offense, kept executing,” said Burress, who wasn’t far off on the 23-17 prediction he made a few days ago. “It came down to one play and we made it.”

The Giants became the first NFC wild card team to win a Super Bowl; four AFC teams have done it. They also are the second wild-card champions in three years, following the Pittsburgh Steelers after the 2005 season.

“It’s the way we went about our work,” Coughlin said of the 11-1 road record. “The road signified the coming together of a team. We rode that emotion all the way through.”

The upset also could be viewed as a source of revenge not only for the Giants, but for the other NFL teams over Spygate back in September. That cheating scandal made headlines again late in Super Bowl week, and could have placed an infinite cloud over New England’s perfection.

Until the frantic fourth quarter, the only scoring came on the game’s first two drives.

The Giants did almost exactly what they sought with the opening kickoff, using up nearly 10 minutes to go 63 yards. Almost exactly, but not quite, because they settled for a 32-yard field goal after converting four third downs on the 16-play series. The 9:59 drive was the longest in Super Bowl history.

That 3-0 lead lasted for the rest of the quarter, but only because the Patriots were stopped at New York’s 1 as the period expired. On the next play, Laurence Maroney scored.

New England’s 12-play drive was aided by a 16-yard pass interference penalty on linebacker Antonio Pierce in the end zone. It began with Maroney’s 43-yard kickoff runback.

It was the fewest possessions in the first quarter of a Super Bowl.

New York’s first series of the second quarter looked dangerous after Amani Toomer’s lunging sideline catch for 38 yards. But rookie Steve Smith mishandled Manning’s throw at the New England 10, Ellis Hobbs intercepted and returned it 23 yards.

Those are opportunities teams can’t waste against a strong opponent, let alone the Patriots. It was Manning’s first interception of the postseason, albeit entirely not his fault; the last was by Hobbs in the season finale.

The Giants survived rookie Ahmad Bradshaw’s fumble, which he recovered, on their next series, because their league-leading pass rush came alive when the Patriots got the ball back. New York sacked Brady on successive plays, forcing a punt, but the Giants’ were hurt by an illegal batting of the ball penalty on Bradshaw after reaching the New England 25.

Justin Tuck’s second sack, in the final seconds of the half, forced a fumble recovered by New York teammate Osi Umenyiora. The Giants’ celebrated defensive line controlled much of the half, holding the most prolific offense in NFL history to a measly 81 yards and seven points. New England had the ball only 10:33.

“We played them five weeks ago and it was a three-point game,” Brady said. “And they made enough changes and really eliminated what we did offensively.”

But New York’s mistakes left the Giants with just three points at halftime — and there are no moral victories in Super Bowls.

So the Giants got a real one as the maturing Manning hung in to find Tyree for a 5-yard touchdown to cap an 80-yard drive for a 10-7 lead.

Pressed unlike they are accustomed to, the Patriots responded with their own 80-yard march as Brady finally got some time. Moss, who caught a record 23 of Brady’s record 50 TD throws this year, scored with 2:42 to go when cornerback Corey Webster fell. The first 19-0 season was right there.

Eli and the Giants snatched it away.

IU coach Kelvin Sampson had one reason why his No. 11 Hoosiers fell to No. 13 Wisconsin on Thursday night.

“It seemed like every time we had a chance to get the lead down to six or five we couldn’t finish,” Sampson said.

There was no bigger chance for the Hoosiers than a trip to the free throw line from senior forward D.J. White.

The Hoosiers scrapped and clawed their way from a 20-point deficit, cutting the Wisconsin lead to 50-43 on the strength of a 17-6 run sparked by strong defense and scoring from freshman guard Eric Gordon.

Trailing by seven with 6:08 left in the contest, White stood on the free throw line with the chance to cut the Wisconsin lead to five. White missed the first free throw of a one-and-one, stopping the momentum of the Hoosier run.

The senior forward buoyed the Hoosiers for most of the game while his teammates struggled, leading the Hoosiers with 22 points and 17 rebounds, but reflected on the missed free throw after the game.

“We didn’t capitalize on our chances,” White said. “I missed a front end of a one-and-one, Armon came down a had a wide open three. Shots just didn’t fall.”

Missed opportunities were the theme of the game for the Hoosiers (17-3, 6-1 Big Ten). IU fell to fourth place in the Big Ten with the loss. Wisconsin moved into a three-way tie for first place with Michigan State and Purdue, all three teams boasting a 7-1 conference mark.

Sampson pointed to the missed free throw as a crucial turning point in the game.

“I thought a key part of the game was, after we were down by 20 and cut it to seven with a chance to get it to five and D.J. White was at the line with a one-and-one,” Sampson said.

IU never recovered from the free throw miss as the Badgers capitalized down the stretch and ultimately cruised to a 12-point victory. Gordon, who scored 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting, was unable to regain the scoring touch he discovered during IU’s 17-6 run in the second half.

Sampson said he wants Gordon to drive to the basket more in key situations, something the star freshman has gone away from in the last few games.

“The thing he (Gordon) has to start getting better at, that he was really good at earlier in the year, is that he has to return to getting to the free throw line,” Sampson said. “Because he can.”

Sampson said the team can build on this game as he was happy with the player’s effort despite a poor shooting night. Next time, Sampson said, the Hoosiers will have to make the key plays at the right time like the Badgers did Thursday night.

“Our defense was good tonight,” Sampson said. “In critical situations, they were better than us. When they needed a critical basket, they got it.”