[media-credit name=’DEREK MONTGOMERY/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]CHICAGO, Ill — Saturday’s title game was supposed to pit an unstoppable backcourt trio against a formidable frontcourt duo. If Wisconsin could shut down Dee Brown, Luther Head and Deron Williams, the title was theirs for a second straight year. If Illinois could contain Mike Wilkinson and Alando Tucker, the United Center crowd would go home happy.

Someone forgot the script.

While the Illinois backcourt was far from spectacular, the day belonged to the Illini big men. Roger Powell and James Augustine were the heroes, pouring in a combined 27 points.

Powell, not Williams or Head, led the Illini in scoring with 15 points. He also pulled down 12 rebounds, five of which came on the weakside glass.

Augustine matched Head, the high man in the backcourt, with 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting. He also hauled in nine rebounds on the day to help the Illini grab a 40-36 edge on the boards. With Powell and Augustine leading the way, Illinois dominated the Badgers down low, outscoring Wisconsin 22-12 in the post.

“He made a statement in the paint,” head coach Bo Ryan said of Augustine. “He intimidated our guys a little bit.”

With Powell and Augustine locking down in the post, Wilkinson and Tucker shot a combined 5-for-21 on the afternoon. The pair had a combined two points at the half.

Wilkinson had just one field goal on the day, scoring six of his eight points from the free-throw line.

Tucker led the Badgers with nine points, but reached that total on 4-for-14 shooting. The athletic forward’s first basket came with 18:52 remaining in the second half.

“I didn’t finish early, and that pretty much set a tone,” Tucker said.

Head was the only member of the Illinois backcourt to register a double-digit point total, scoring 12 points on 5-for-12 shooting. Fellow guard Williams shot 3-for-10.

Brown, the Big Ten’s Most Valuable Player, did not score. He shot 0-for-8 on the day, including 0-for-5 shooting from behind the arc.

All told, Powell and Augustine outscored Illinois’ Big Three by seven points, and the Wisconsin backcourt trio of Clayton Hanson, Sharif Chambliss and Kammron Taylor outscored Tucker and Wilkinson by two.

However, both teams did execute their defensive game plans. Wisconsin contained the Illini backcourt. Illinois contained the Badger frontcourt. But Illinois’ unheralded big men were the difference.

It was a day that would make Dick Bennett proud. The two teams combined for less than 100 points. The winning team tallied just 54 — and won by 11. The Badgers and Illini shot a combined 31 percent from the field (33-107). Wisconsin had just 18 points at the half.

The 22,157 in attendance could not confuse Sunday’s battle with a Pac-10 shootout or an ACC showdown. This was a Big Ten title game from start to finish.

The phrase, “first one to 60 wins” did not apply Sunday. In this game, it was first one to 50.

All-Tournament team: After Bruce Weber’s squad cut down the nets to the delight of the droves of Illini faithful who packed into the United Center, the conference gave the sea of orange one more reason to cheer.

Following his dominant performance in the championship game, Augustine was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Head also joined Augustine on the all-tournament team.

Wisconsin’s Tucker was also selected along with fellow forward Zach Morley, who poured in 40 points in two games to lead the Badgers to the title game. The only all-tournament selection who did not appear in Sunday’s finale was Vincent Grier of Minnesota, who scored 24 points in the Gophers’ loss to Illinois.