After going nearly a month without a victory, the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team defeated No. 23 Illinois 63-50 last night at the Kohl Center, ending its six-game losing streak and keeping its NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
Unlike in their previous five games, the Badgers were able to hold on to their lead and shut down Illinois’ shooters in the process. Although Wisconsin lost six in a row, they were defeated by an average margin of only 3.8 points per game.
“Before, losing games came down to the final few possessions, us making mistakes or the other team getting hot,” senior forward Marcus Landry said. “In those games, I believe, we also had a lead, but today we maintained our lead. That’s why we were successful.”
Junior guard Jason Bohannon broke out of his shooting slump and led all scorers with 20 points, shooting 6-for-9 from the field, all of his field goals coming from beyond the 3-point line. Also for the Badgers, sophomore forward Jon Leuer — who got his first start of the season — scored 15 points, while Landry scored 16.
“I thought our movement away from the ball was pretty decent,” UW head coach Bo Ryan said. “We made them cover, and they didn’t do a bad job of it. We hit some shots that made them have to stretch a little early.”
But during a streak when the Badgers were struggling to contain opponents at the end of games, they needed a spark on the defensive side of the court. Wisconsin held Illinois to only 32.8 percent shooting from the field and an abysmal 19 percent from 3-point range.
“We were making them work for tough shots,” Bohannon said. “A lot of the time, we were playing 35 seconds of defense and they were coming down at the end of the shot clock trying to get a shot up.
“Anytime on the defensive end when you’re forcing a team on offense to do that, you’re playing to your own advantage.”
“We’re taking some line drives away and that’s the way things work sometimes,” Ryan added. “The last two games, you saw two completely different things happen defensively.”
In the teams’ first meeting, the Illini shot 50 percent from the field en route to their 64-57 over the Badgers. Last night, however, Wisconsin dominated the second half and held the Illini to only 31.4 percent shooting in the latter period.
While Bohannon had his best night of the year, fellow junior guard Trevon Hughes struggled from the field, shooting 0-for-7 with zero points on the night. Nevertheless, Ryan found his defensive play vital in the big win.
Hughes’ defense on McCamey was particularly notable after the Illini guard lit up the Badgers for 25 points when the teams met in Champaign, Ill., on Jan. 24.
“[Hughes] played a good game,” Ryan said. “Defensively on (Demetri) McCamey, his help and recover, his ball pressure and his ball handling. … How many times can you say that about an 0-for-7?”
Ryan was also impressed with the Badgers’ relentlessness on the court, noting the players exhibited “hustle” throughout the entire game and capitalized on Illinois’ errors.
“The fans here and the people here are very, very appreciative, and I think you can tell that of hustle opportunities; it’s just the Wisconsin way,” Ryan said. “I thought we took advantage of the opportunities that we did get with our hustle.”
Despite losing six consecutive games, the Badgers’ NCAA Tournament hopes are still very much alive. Before the game, Wisconsin ranked No. 3 in the nation in strength of schedule and No. 30 in RPI. With the win over Illinois, the Badgers will look to create a new streak, this time on the left-hand side of the column.
“We had a tough stretch there,” Bohannon said. “There were a lot of games when we were right in it, but didn’t pull it out. Tonight we got a lot better at the things we were struggling at earlier. Hopefully, we can take that on to the next game and get a little streak out of it.”
