Some key stats Illinois' win over Wisconsin

So now that we have had some time to digest what happened last night, I would like to take a moment to point out some of the more telling statistics as to how and why the Illini won last night's game.

• Wisconsin has an extremely lopsided game of late, and it bit them last night. They took 29 threes and only 27 two pointers. When you take that many, you had better be making them, and the Badgers only sank 11 (36%). Some of that should very rightly go to the credit of the Illini defense at guard, (D.J. Richardson, Bill Cole, Jeff Jordan. Excellent work) but some also can be credited to just cold shooting. The Badgers have relied on the 3 all year, but it is getting out of hand when you only make 9 two point shots in a game, and only get to the line nine times. There was never much of a challenge to the Illini's interior defense.
• Rebounding. We know Cole and Mike Davis each had a nice night on the glass, grabbing 8 each, but having been out rebounded by the likes of Iowa and Michigan State rather significantly it comes as a surprise that the Illini would do this well against the Badgers. Like good as in 32-25. These are the same Illini that supposedly are too thin and lanky to box out their stout Big 10 peers. Some of this again goes to the fact that like the Illini Wisconsin is giving up positioning by big men so that they can take perimeter shots. Even so, nice work.

• The great shooting percentage. The Badgers actually took 11 more shots than the Illini, had 4 fewer turnovers and grabbed 4 more offensive rebounds. All of these things point to an advantage for the Badgers, and had they hit their shots at something higher than an abysmal 36% it very well may have been. The Illini, for their part took advantage of the poor defense that Wisconsin was putting on Mike Tisdale and Demetri and had a very, very efficient 53% shooting from the floor.
  
• The best and most satisfying stat is how well the Illini closed the game out. They got rebounds when they needed to, and above all they made their foul shots, going 11-15 from the line, with Tis and D.J. not missing any of theirs in the final minute. I had hoped that the close games the Illini have found themselves in time after time have taught them how to hold on to slim leads at the end of the game. I think it has proven true. That is going to be a big deal in March, and yes, that's where this team is going.