Irksome road losses inspire No. 8 Illinois, Wisconsin
No. 8 Illinois and Wisconsin both were reminded this past weekend how much it stings to have a Big Ten road win ripped from your hands.
Those results left Illinois (20-4, 11-2 Big Ten) and Wisconsin (16-7, 8-4) in the same place: With limited time to discard the anguish before another Big Ten battle on Tuesday night in Champaign, Ill., that will affect the league race and NCAA Tournament seeding.
But make no mistake: There was plenty of anguish to go around between the Badgers and the Fighting Illini.
On Saturday afternoon in Bloomington, Ind., the Badgers' one-point lead was taken away with 2.8 seconds left in overtime after a hotly debated foul was called on John Blackwell, leading to a pair of game-winning free throws by Indiana's Lamar Wilkerson. That came one possession after an offensive foul whistled on backcourt mate Nick Boyd when the Hoosiers needed to foul while trailing by one point with the shot clock off.
"The (foul) there at the end, I've never seen anything like that," Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. "I don't know. I mean, they're trying to foul. They actually fouled us three times coming up the floor and didn't call it. ... I'll get some clarification. I've never seen that type of call be made before. So, I guess there's a first for everything."
Later on Saturday, the Illini's nine-point lead in the second half gradually slipped away in a haze of lane violations, Michigan State offensive rebounds and a whistle that Illinois fans felt favored the home team. In the end, the Illini wound up on the short end of an 85-82 overtime verdict that snapped their 12-game winning streak.
"That's a distraught locker room," Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. "There's a bunch of guys that have a bunch of desire and want-to and care. We've had three straight Saturdays of top (10) opponents on the road. It's what the Big Ten schedule gives you and guess what? There's another one on Tuesday."
Regarding that Tuesday game, the Illini and Badgers are almost mirror images - with the notable exception of Illinois' unparalleled height that helps it rank No. 6 nationally in rebounding margin (plus-10.5 per game) compared to Wisconsin's plus-2.8 per game.
Otherwise, these are two teams that love spreading the floor to shoot 3-pointers, loathe committing turnovers and play defensive styles that don't lend themselves to forcing turnovers.
Also, whichever team makes the most open 3-point attempts figures to win -- and the Illini enter hitting a slightly higher percentage: 35.7% to 34.6%.
On Saturday, the Illini's bid to win was handicapped by freshman Keaton Wagler's season-worst 2-of-16 shooting that included 2 of 8 behind the arc. Wagler (17.8 ppg, 4.2 apg) dropped from No. 4 to No. 6 in KenPom's national Player of the Year calculations.
"He was due," Underwood said. "It was just the law of averages. I'll give them all the credit. They did a nice job. But those are the same exact shots that he's been making all season long."
Meanwhile, 7-foot junior Nolan Winter continues to elevate his game for the Badgers. He recorded a career-high 26 points along with 12 rebounds, three 3-pointers and two blocks against Indiana.
"I thought we could have found him more," Gard said. "I thought we missed him a lot in the first half."
Winter (14.3 ppg, 8.8 rpg) gives the Badgers a third option to Boyd (20.0 ppg, 3.5 apg) and Blackwell (18.5 ppg).