MADISON, Wis. – Just when it’s assumed the University of Wisconsin has hit rock bottom, the Badgers break out the shovels and dig a little deeper.

Outside a brief offensive burst in the second half, Wisconsin's struggles continue to compound as the Badgers lost their offensive flow and allowed Illinois to run away with a 61-51 victory at the Kohl Center Saturday that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score indicated.

Once 11-2 overall and 3-0 in the conference, Wisconsin (12-8, 4-6 Big Ten) is in freefall, having lost three games in six days and now sitting in 11th place in the conference due to its inability to play anything close to a complete game. It’s not one problem either, as UW has appeared to alternate between bad offensive and defensive performances.

This time it was the offense’s turn. The Badgers held the Illini (15-6, 6-4) to 43.1 percent, but UW scored only 18 points in the first half, shot 33.3 percent for the game, and was outscored 19-2 after tying the game at 37.

Illinois got a career-high 26 points from Matthew Mayer, who outscored UW’s starting frontcourt of Steven Crowl and Tyler Wahl by 10.

Chucky Hepburn led Wisconsin with 15 points with Max Klesmit adding 12, as the Badgers have dropped five of six.

The game appeared over much earlier following Mayer’s 3-point play with 16:20 remaining. The Badgers were trailing 32-20, shooting 21.6 percent (8-for-37) from the field, and were seconds away from Wahl headed to the bench with foul trouble.

With Wahl on the bench, Hepburn finally shook off the cobwebs. Missing his first six attempts, dropping him to 5-for-25 over the last three games, Hepburn delivered a fist pump when he hit a three-pointer in rhythm.

It was the beginning of five consecutive makes for Wisconsin, ending with Hepburn’s driving layup to put the Badgers ahead 35-34 thanks to a 15-2 run. The run of success didn’t last.

Starting with Meyer’s step-back three-pointer, Illinois’ 22-4 run put the Illini up with 5:45 remaining. Meyer – averaging 10.6 points per game – had 10 points during a 4:17 stretch of that decisive run.

With Illinois's leading scorer Terrence Shelton Jr. and Wahl - Wisconsin's leading scorer - spending the final 15 minutes of the first half on the bench, the first half was far from a shooting clinic. The Illini were 9-for-27 and had seven turnovers in 32 possessions. UW was worse, finishing at 18.3 percent (6-for-33) and averaging .500 points per possession.

The Badgers didn’t miss to start the second half because they couldn’t even attempt shots, turning the ball over three times on their first four possessions. Wahl scored UW’s first seven points of the second half but picked up two fouls in three seconds and sat at the 15:25 mark with four fouls. He played the final 9:49 because of foul trouble with Crowl but managed only one bucket on three shots.

What it means: Wisconsin has failed to capitalize on a pair of Quad-1 opportunities and the Badgers – one of the last teams in the projected NCAA Tournament field by Fox Sports and ESPN’s projected last team in the field Friday – are in real trouble.

Star of the game: Meyer hurt Wisconsin from two-point range (4-for-8), three-point range (5-for-11), and the free-throw line (3-for-4).

Stat of the game: Carter Gilmore scored all of UW’s bench points (five), as the reserves were a combined 2-for-14 from the field.

Reason to be Concerned: Wisconsin has had its back against the wall all week and lost three times, the last two being duds.

Don’t overlook: Klesmit did his best to make an impact after missing the last two games with a facial injury. He opened UW’s scoring with a three-pointer, drew an offensive foul on Shannon Jr., and registered a steal all within the first five minutes.

What’s next: After playing three games in six days, Wisconsin will get a four-day break before traveling to Columbus for its only meeting against Ohio State. Beginning the day in 12th place in the conference after losing six of the last seven, the Buckeyes (11-9, 3-6) are 13th nationally in three-point field goal percentage (38.8), third in the Big Ten in scoring (77.0), and 18th nationally in three-point defense (29.3). OSU’s best player is Brice Sensabaugh, who leads the Big Ten freshman in scoring at 17.4 ppg, has led OSU in scoring the last 11 games, and is shooting 46.7 percent from the perimeter. UW is 25-56 at Ohio State but has split the last four meetings at Value City Arena.

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