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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Missing two of its stars in the frontcourt, Illinois needed everyone on the court to do what they do well — with just a little bit more effort.
They came up just short, dropping a 92-to-90 overtime loss to the Wisconsin Badgers at State Farm Center on Tuesday to conclude an exhausting stretch of five games in 13 days. After leading for 24 minutes, the Illini let their guard down at the worst possible time. Illinois missed seven late free throws and turned the ball over eight times in the second half, giving up another win after looking like the better team for almost the whole game.
“I don’t have one complaint,” said head coach Brad Underwood. “We just need health.”
But what really caused the collapse? Was it Wisconsin’s defensive changes? Was it veteran guards Nick Boyd and John Blackwell combining for 49 points? Was it the fact that the Illini were missing two of their best perimeter defenders and ball handlers? Was it the poor performance on the offensive glass?
After struggling to knock down shots in the first 30 minutes, a late Wisconsin run tied the game up at 76 with two minutes to go. Wisconsin trailed by 12 with eight minutes left in the second half.
The Illini hoped to quickly gain momentum back at home after a heartbreaking overtime loss in East Lansing against No. 10 Michigan State snapped Illinois’ 12-game winning streak. But it was never going to be easy without two of their most vital players, up against a Wisconsin team that was also aiming to bounce back after its overtime loss to Indiana.
With veteran guard Kylan Boswell remaining sidelined with a hand injury, the Illini were already down their best defender and the engine of the squad.
But it got worse.
Coming off a 17-point, seven-rebound game against the Spartans, Underwood had veteran guard Andrej Stojakovic geared up to be a release valve for Illinois Tuesday night with his ability to get to the rim one-on-one. But the ankle injury that Stojakovic picked up early against Michigan State lingered, and the Illini had to adapt quickly down another star in the backcourt against the Badgers.
“It was six dudes,” Underwood said. “We had one ball handler tonight.”
Veteran forward Tomislav Ivisic wasted no time picking up the offensive load, scoring 17 first-half points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from deep. A 9-0 Illinois run in the back end of the first half, led by star freshman Keaton Wagler and veteran forward Ben Humrichous, left the Illini up 6 going into the break after trailing the first ten minutes.
Up against Wisconsin’s elite downhill guards Nick Boyd and John Blackwell, the Illini had to be quick in transition defense. The Badgers struggled to knock down shots in the first half, shooting only 37% from the field. Those struggles briefly came to a halt after halftime, with Wisconsin knocking down three straight triples out of the locker room. But the struggles resumed shortly after for the Badgers, unable to score for five minutes straight in a drought that saw them miss ten straight field goals.
In the first ten minutes of the second half, freshman forward David Mirkovic racked up eight points. Wagler followed with a few audaciously deep three-pointers from the top of the key. It took quite a while for the Badgers to heat up, but out of nowhere, a late Wisconsin run led by Boyd, Blackwell and Austin Rapp tied the game up at 76 with two minutes to go.
Wagler kept Illinois afloat, but the Badgers just wouldn’t back down. Wisconsin forward Austin Rapp sank another triple to put Wisconsin up one with less than a minute to go, a minute after hitting the triple that tied the game at 76. Wagler knocked down one of two free throws with 30 seconds to go, forcing overtime.
With all the momentum in the world, the Wisconsin Badgers stormed ahead in overtime to score eight straight and go up 89-to-81. Illinois managed to cut the lead to two points with 43 seconds to go, but the Badgers hung on and stole the win.
“It’s just been pretty fast so it’ll be nice to just kind of catch your breath for a minute,” Underwood said.
Illinois hosts Indiana on Feb. 15 at State Farm Center, looking to bounce back from two straight losses.
Stat Stuffers
Keaton Wagler: 34 points, seven assists, 12-of-23 FG, 5-of-10 3FG
Tomislav Ivisic: 19 points, 11 rebounds
David Mirkovic: 12 points, six rebounds, 3-of-6 3FG, four turnovers
Ben Humrichous: 1o points, seven rebounds
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