Cardiac Badgers Knock Off Illinois in Big Ten Tournament
Another clutch performance was in the cards for Wisconsin on Friday, as it knocked off Illinois in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament, 91-88. The last time these two met, it came down to the wire in Champaign, and that was nothing short of true in Chicago.
The Cardiac Badgers put up another impressive offensive performance, led by their star guards. Down the stretch, they responded to a major lead built by the Fighting Illini. Greg Gard and company are now 2-0 against Illinois this season.
Rough Offense Highlighted a Chippy First Half
The game immediately started with fireworks, as Nick Boyd and Kylan Boswell got it going with a double technical on the first possession. Boyd began hot with seven quick points, shooting 3-for-3. He finished the half with nine.
After going up 10-5 within the first three minutes, Wisconsin squandered the lead with a 23-3 run from Illinois. But the script flipped once again with a 12-0 run from the Badgers. 23 of their 34 shot attempts came from three-point range (21.7% from downtown), attempting just two free throws. Meanwhile, the Fighting Illini weren’t that much better from beyond the arc, posting 46-29-75 shooting splits.
Off the bench, Andrej Stojakovic took over with 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting. John Blackwell gave Boyd some much-needed help with 10 points, playing nearly the entire half. Outside of the guard duo, the Badgers went 23.5% from the field.
A physical 20 minutes capped off with back-and-forth scoring. Wisconsin averaged just 0.97 points per possession in the half with a 6.5% turnover rate, while Illinois put up 1.16 points per possession. However, the Fighting Illini gave the ball away five times with a 16.1% turnover rate. They would go up 36-30 at the break.
Boyd, Blackwell Carried the Entire Game
The half started with extremely limited offense from the Badgers. They went by as many as 15 points within the first 10 minutes, as Illinois found a spark from the entire rotation. The bench recorded zero points after the break, while Wisconsin’s offense came solely from Boyd and Blackwell.
The Badgers outscored the Fighting Illini 25-7 across six and a half minutes. 23 of those came from their star guards. Both teams traded baskets from there, going into the bonus with plenty of time remaining. After the referees held their breath in the first half, the final 20 minutes of regulation saw a combined 21 fouls called.
And with less than two minutes to go, a Big Ten classic brewed with the score tied. A Stojakovic layup put Illinois up going into the final 60 seconds of play. From there, Blackwell would hit two free throws to tie it. He’d get the shot on the final possession, tied at 78, but it was off the mark. Overtime in Chicago.
Cardiac Badgers Pulled it Out in Extra Time
The offense didn’t sputter in overtime, as Wisconsin got out to a five-point lead halfway through the period following an Austin Rapp triple. A questionable foul on Blackwell led to free throws, as he (31) and Boyd (38) combined for an unbelievable 69 points.
Boyd broke the program record for most points in a Big Ten Tournament game, set by Blackwell yesterday. He also managed to move up to second behind Terrence Shannon Jr. (40) for the most points in a tournament game across the entire conference.
Another late-game scare saw the Fighting Illini get a final shot, but Keaton Wagler’s deep ball was off the mark. In the semifinals, the Badgers will face Michigan for the second time this season. Wisconsin has the chance to go to its third straight Big Ten Tournament final, having lost the previous two.
