In the end, it's about toughness. Are these LA Clippers tough enough to win where few do: at Wisconsin?

They'll get their shot Thursday night at the Kohl Center, where the No. 11 Badgers are 103-6 (50-2 against Big Ten teams) under coach Bo Ryan.

The quick answer is yes if the Hoosiers fix the problems that erupted in Saturday's 68-63 loss to Connecticut - missing one-footers, poor rebounding, an inability to stop dribble penetration and no true power forward.

The long answer is more complicated.

The Hoosiers' season-long knock has been a soft schedule - only six winning teams, a 159th ranking - that produced a top-10 ranking (No. 7), but not a top-10 team. They've lost to the one ranked team in their first 18 games - No. 23 Xavier, although the Musketeers weren't ranked when they played in November. The best team they beat - based on RPI - is No. 42 Illinois State. They lost to a Connecticut team with a RPI of 31.

“It was probably the first time a couple of us played a little (selfishly),” guard Armon Bassett said after the Connecticut loss. “We took shots we haven't taken all season.”

That was especially true of freshman guard Eric Gordon, who forced inside shots against the Huskies' imposing size that showed up on ESPN's SportsCenter highlight critique.

“He looked like he was struggling,” coach Kelvin Sampson said. “The game didn't come easy to him.”

So now the Hoosiers' 13-game win streak is gone; their 29-game home winning streak is over. Connecticut outplayed them, something that's never happened to them before at Assembly Hall under Sampson.

“Basketball is a game you have to play together,” Sampson said. “You can't play it by yourself. This was uncharacteristic of this team.

“At some point you'll lose at home. North Carolina did. UCLA did. I don't worry about records. All I'm interested in is this team bouncing back and not dwelling on mistakes. We were bad (Saturday). There will be other games for us to be great in.”

The next greatness opportunity comes Thursday night. Then come two games against No. 10 Michigan State, two against Ohio State and one against Purdue (which upset Wisconsin on Saturday) in the next six weeks.

“We still have a good team,” Sampson said. “It's a setback, but we have 12 more games. We'll win a ton more games. We might wind up being the best team (in the Big Ten).”

The Connecticut loss didn't cost Indiana (17-2) in the Big Ten standings. They are first at 6-0. Wisconsin, Purdue and Michigan State are all 6-1.

“We did not have the edge, and that's something we have to work on,” Sampson said. “I didn't see our players grit their teeth. We have young kids, but we're not a young team anymore. For young kids, when shots are not going in, that dissolves effort. We have to grow up from that.

“There will be some games like this. You have to learn from it. It could be a great learning experience. It will be.”

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