LDN - Sports

No. 10 Wisconsin defeats Illinois for 11th straight time

[February 01, 2017] CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- After the first 10 minutes Tuesday night, 10th-ranked Wisconsin struggled to find the basket.

Even so, the Badgers made sure Illinois never found a groove offensively.

Holding the Fighting Illini to 27.6 percent shooting from the field, Wisconsin stayed in a tie with Maryland atop the Big 10 Conference by beating Illinois 57-43 at State Farm Center.

Ethan Happ's 14-point, 13-rebound double-double paced the Badgers, who won their 11th straight meeting with Illinois (13-10, 3-7). Nigel Hayes added 11 points and eight boards as Wisconsin (19-3, 8-1 Big Ten) ripped off its sixth consecutive win.

"We were terrific defensively," Badgers coach Greg Gard said. "It may be as well as we've played in the halfcourt defensively. Other than failing to secure a few rebounds, to come in here and perform like this defensively is a credit to (the players)."

Wisconsin was particularly difficult on Fighting Illini senior guard Malcolm Hill, who entered the game averaging 17.5 points per game. Hill was limited to 10 points, making only 4 of 14 shots as several Badgers took turns checking him.

Gard said the basic game plan was to communicate where Hill was and make sure his defender funneled him into bodies.

"They played solid defense," Hill said. "I just felt like we had a lot of good shots that we missed. I felt good with the ball, but we just missed a lot of shots early."

Early and late, as it turned out. Illinois, which entered the game averaging 75.5 points per game, was held 11 points under its season low. After hitting 8 of 25 field-goal attempts in the first half, the Illini were even worse in the second half at 8 of 33.

Emblematic of the night's struggles was a sequence midway through the second half, a point when it appeared that the Illini were about to make a big push. Trailing 42-36 after Jaylon Tate scored in transition, Illinois got a stop and then got Hill open in the left corner for a clean look at a 3-pointer.

However, Hill, who hits nearly 36 percent from the arc, couldn't convert. Zak Showalter followed with a 3-pointer from the top of the key, starting a 9-1 Wisconsin run that essentially ended the game's competitive phase.

"I told the guys to just stay composed and weather the storm," Hayes said. "It will be over sooner instead of later."

That the Badgers still had a cushion when the Illini made their little surge could be explained by the game's first 9:17, when the visitors averaged more than 1.6 points per possession in establishing a 26-10 lead. Wisconsin scored the first nine points, forcing Illinois coach John Groce into the unenviable position of using a timeout before his team managed a point.

[to top of second column]

Illinois Fighting Illini forward Leron Black (12) and Illinois Fighting Illini guard Malcolm Hill (21) box out Wisconsin Badgers forward Nigel Hayes (10) during the second half at State Farm Center. Wisconsin beat Illinois 57 to 43. Mandatory Credit: Mike Granse-USA TODAY Sports

The lead stayed in double figures for about the last 15 minutes of the half, even when the Badgers finally cooled off and failed to score on eight straight possessions. Their old staples -- defense and rebounding -- carried them through most of the game's remainder.

In fact, Wisconsin kept the ball for a whopping 99 seconds after Hill scored with 1:41 left in the half because the Badgers grabbed four offensive rebounds. Vitto Brown converted the final one into a put-back with 2.9 seconds remaining, enabling the Badgers to take a 33-20 lead to intermission.

While Illinois did a decent job at times on Happ, who was coming off a 32-point outing in a 61-54 overtime win Saturday over Rutgers at Madison Square Garden, Happ was efficient. The Big 10 Player of the Year candidate was 7 of 11 from the field, showcasing a pro-ready array of pivot moves on each block, and he had more offensive rebounds (six) than any Illini player had rebounds period (four).

"You always want to do the most with the opportunities you have," Happ said.

Or, if you're playing defense, force the opponent to do the least with their opportunities. Particularly someone with Hill's skill.

"It seems like he's been here 100 years," Gard said of Hill. "He's put in a lot of work to become the player he is, but I thought we did a good job following the rules on him."

Maverick Morgan also scored 10 points for Illinois.

NOTES: Wisconsin entered the game ranked fifth in Division I in rebounding margin at plus-9.8, capturing 77.3 percent of available defensive rebounds and 36.7 percent of possible offensive boards. It finished with a 45-36 rebounding advantage, capturing 19 offensive caroms. ... Illinois G Malcolm Hill needs only two rebounds to be the fifth player in school history with 1,600 points and 600 rebounds. ... Badger Fs Ethan Happ and Nigel Hayes were each named to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 watch list.

Back to top