Wisconsin turned its postseason outlook around by locking in defensively, a grit that led them to three straight victories in the Big Ten Tournament and a 10-point advantage in the second half of the conference title game.
But after the Badgers locked down the conference’s second-best scoring team for 45 minutes Saturday, they couldn’t do it 40 a full 40 against the Big Ten’s most explosive offense.
Second-seeded Illinois found a second gear offensively down the stretch to outlast Wisconsin, 93-87, in the Big Ten Tournament championship at the Target Center Sunday.
The Illini (26-8) won its fourth tournament championship, and second in four years, largely due to their strong second halves. After shooting 59.4 percent in its 11-point semifinal win over Nebraska, Illinois shot 61.5 percent in the second half.
A night after scoring a Big Ten Tournament record 40 points against Nebraska, Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 19 of his game-high 34 points after halftime to earn the tournament's most outstanding player. Marcus Domask added 26 points (8-for-11), as the Illini duo combined to go 24-for-27 from the foul line.
A.J. Storr scored 24 points, Chucky Hepburn had 20, while Max Klesmit added 16 for Wisconsin (22-13), which fell to 3-5 in Big Ten Tournament championship games. Storr and Hepburn were named to the all-tournament team.
Neither team led by more than four points for the first 24 minutes. Wisconsin tried to separate with Hepburn delivering two three-point plays in three possessions to push the lead to 10, only to see the Illini respond with a 21-5 run to take a six-point lead with 8:38 remaining.
Playing its fourth game in four days, Wisconsin didn’t yield with points on six consecutive possessions, 13 in all and six from Storr, to tie the game at 77 with 5:07 remaining.
Klesmit hit a pair of three-pointers down the stretch to erase Illinois leads, but Shannon answered Klesmit’s second three with one of his own and then picked Storr’s pocket, leading to two free throws and a 90-85 lead. UW never recovered after scoring only two points on its final five possessions and missing its final four shots after Klesmit’s three.
Wisconsin shot 50 percent in the second half but didn’t get much help from Illinois, which went 17-for-18 from the foul line and committed only four turnovers in the second half.
What it means: Wisconsin simply ran out of gas down the stretch against an Illinois team that has its number, having beaten the Badgers now eight consecutive times.
Star of the game: Shannon was terrific for Illinois, especially down the stretch when he scored eight of the team’s final 10 points.
Stat of the game: Wisconsin’s 25 second-chance points were a season-high for the Badgers.
Reason to be Concerned: The Badgers dropped to 1-11 when trailing at halftime.
Don’t overlook: With Wahl forced to the bench for the final 8:50 of the first half, Wisconsin got productive minutes from fourth-year junior Carter Gilmore, who tied his season-high with seven points and two rebounds.
What’s next: Although denied its first Big Ten Tournament championship since 2015, and the automatic bid that comes with it, Wisconsin will enter next week’s NCAA Tournament playing its best basketball since late January. The Badgers will find out their seed, opponent, location, and game time shortly.
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