Illini lose intense and crucial game to Wisconsin at home 72-57

It is customary for these post games to attempt to pinpoint the turning point of any given game. Today it is not very hard.  Down by only five and with the ball, the Illini brought the ball down the floor in need of a basket. Points in any form. The result was a turnover followed by an intentional foul by Demetri McCamey followed by some very intense words being exchanged by the team's star player and the coach. The game would never be with in five points again.

It was 55-50 at the seven minute mark, from there the Illini only scored seven more points, two of which were from Bubba Chisholm with a minute left. It was one very bad stretch for the Illini.

In a much larger sense however, the game was lost due to a combination of poor Illini shooting and very good Wisconsin shooting. The Illini were once again burned by the three ball, as the Badgers hit seven from beyond the arc, even though the Illini had five of their own. The big disparities are in the shooting percentages, Wisconsin had 41% for the game, the Illini had only 36%, going 5-20 from the field after the break. The Illini to their credit kept themselves alive and in the game by driving to the basket and drawing fouls.  The Illini went to the line 21 times in the second half, and only missed three.

Says Bo Ryan: We didn't do anything different, the only difference was they weren't hitting their shots. We weren't going to overreact from a couple guys being hot.

In case you didn't notice, Demetri McCamey did not reach his minimum assists to break the single season record. He got only four. He averages 7.72 assists per game in conference and 6.7 assists per game overall. 

Says Bill Cole: We have got to stop getting down by so much, we can't keep having to come from behind all the time.

"We can cause a ruckus in the tournament, we have the talent" Note he means the BTT, nothing is obviously known for the Big Dance.

As of this writing, the outcome of the Michigan State and Michigan game is unknown, if MSU wins, the Illini will play Wisconsin once again on Friday, a Wolverine upset means we get the Spartans. Neither seems particularly appetizing to me right now.

If you are going to beat Wisconsin again, today would have been the day to do it. At home with a sell out on Senior Day, with Jon Leuer and Trevon Hughes in foul trouble and Jason Bohannon scoring only three points, you would think these factors would all point to an Illini win.  Not today though. Jon Leuer had twenty points to go with his four fouls and did indeed turn out to be the difference between today and in Madison. 

BW: We pulled every motivational tool we had out of the bag, and obviously we did not meet our expectations.

BW Difference in this game was offensive rebounds and Jon Leuer. The loose balls, the long rebounds, and they were able to get them.

"They get foul trouble, which they never seem to get, and we cannot take advantage."

"Sooner or later, this is coming to an end, we've got one last chance to make this season a positive one."

On the intentional foul by Demetri :"frustration, pure frustration"

"We have got to win, that is what it comes down to, and hope there aren't any upsets. We are capable, we've shown that, but we have got to prove it on the court."

"We have depended on Demetri all year, other guys have got to play well, but we need him to play really good in order to give us a real chance."

"Shot selection is a big key to our poor shooting, but defenses definitely have something to do with it."