In yet another overtime thriller, the No. 5 seed Wisconsin Badgers came back from a 15-point deficit to upset the No. 4 seed Illinois Fighting Illini on Friday, winning 91-88 as Keaton Wagler missed a three at the final buzzer once again.
It was a game wildly reminiscent of the first battle between the two teams, as Wisconsin had some good runs, saw itself go down double digits, and fought its way back to force overtime and secure the win. With the victory, the Badgers will now face the No. 1 Michigan
Wolverines on Saturday afternoon in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
Here are three quick takeaways from the Badgers 91-88 win over Illinois on Saturday.
Game of runs
The Badgers are a team that gets hot and one that sees its cold spells. We saw that in the first game against Illinois, where the Badgers had strong starts to both halves, which was crucial, and then a major cold spell before coming back from down 12 to force overtime and eventually win.
On Friday, we saw the same behavior. The Badgers started the first half strong, getting out to a 10-5 lead over the first three minutes, with Nick Boyd’s energy leading the charge. But that was followed by an ugly 23-3 run for the Illini across a near-eight-minute period, with Illinois leading 28-13 at the 9:14 mark of the first half.
At that point, it looked like the Badgers were dead in the water. Their offense looked out of place, and Illinois was thriving both in the halfcourt and in transition, with the crowd on their side.
But, just like that, Wisconsin shot back with a 12-0 run, and suddenly, we were back with a ballgame at 28-25 Illinois. That gave head coach Greg Gard enough confidence to sit point guard Nick Boyd with two fouls with five minutes remaining in the period, and the Badgers went into halftime down 36-30.
However, the second half start on Friday was far different than what Wisconsin had back in February. This time, it was Illinois who got out to a screaming start, going on a 9-3 run to open the period and extended their lead back to double digits.
Wisconsin clawed and fought from there, but Illinois was able to respond to any punch the Badgers threw and even land a few of their own. As a result, their lead extended to 15 with 11:34 remaining in the game. But, just like that (I know, again), Wisconsin showcased how resilient they were, and immediately responded with a 13-2 run, and it was a ballgame once again.
From there, we got a terrific finish, as both sides started running hot in a back-and-forth battle. Down 64-60, Wisconsin scored on seven straight possessions across a three-minute period, even retaking the lead at one point in a tight end.
The Badgers got a huge win with another strong finish, and the two double-digit comebacks were huge for the victory.
The Killer Bs Strike Again
There’s just not enough to say about Wisconsin’s elite guard duo, who showed up in the biggest moment of the season on Friday with their best game together.
Of Wisconsin’s 91 points, Boyd and Blackwell combined for 69 points on 37 shots, completely taking over in a game where many of the Badgers’ other players struggled to shoot well from the field. Wisconsin needed every one of those points as they overcame multiple major
Nick Boyd was phenomenal, scoring 38 points on 12 of 20 from the field, while also dishing out six assists and securing five rebounds. Boyd, who dealt with foul trouble early in the game, was, as usual, the catalyst for Wisconsin’s comeback, as he had a monster second half, putting up 22 points in the period alone.
With Wisconsin struggling from deep, Boyd was huge in getting good looks at or near the rim in the second half, maneuvering through the screens and Illinois’s defense to get to the rim and the free-throw line. Just 24 hours after John Blackwell broke Wisconsin’s record for most points by a Badger in a Big Ten Tournament game with 34, Boyd did one better with his 38 points.
Then, in overtime, Boyd was calm and collected, finding his spot in the paint with a layup and a nice touch floater.
Before the game, I wrote how John Blackwell was the big key to Wisconsin’s success in March. After seeing some slumps during the regular season, Blackwell was really starting to pick it up over the final week of the regular season with two extremely efficient performances against Maryland and Purdue.
Then, in Wisconsin’s first tournament, Blackwell was huge with his 34 points and six threes, even hitting a clutch jumper in the paint after the Washington Huskies made a fervent comeback to help the Badgers win by three.
Wisconsin will go as far as this duo takes them, both this weekend in the Big Ten Tournament and in the NCAA Tournament starting next week. There’s a very valid argument that they’re the best backcourt in college basketball, and they added to that with a phenomenal day on Friday against a top-10 team.
Resiliency
There was a formula to beating this Illinois team: shoot the three well, fast starts in both halves, and win as much of the defensive glass battle as you can.
Well, Wisconsin struggled from three badly in the first half. It’s not like they didn’t get good looks; they did. But they shot just 5 of 23 from deep. In other games, I’ve noted the need for more paint touches and attacking to create better shots, but that’s just hard to do against this defense and their elite rim protection.
As for the fast starts, Wisconsin had a big one in the first half, but that quickly evaporated when Illinois went on a 23-3 run. Then, in the second half, they started slowly, with the Illini building up a double-digit lead.
But one thing we’ve seen time after time with this Badgers team is the resiliency. Wisconsin has made a number of double-digit comebacks since January, with Greg Gard speaking to this team’s poise and growth after the early-season struggles.
Down by double-digits multiple times in this game, Wisconsin found a way to stabilize and compete against a top-10 team in the country. A huge part of that is the leadership and talent of Nick Boyd and John Blackwell, who were both phenomenal on Friday. But it’s also a testament to the staff and the team’s leadership that they don’t crumble or waver when put in tough situations.
After struggling from deep, the Badgers found a way to be incredibly efficient inside the arc AND get to the free throw line against a top-tier paint defense. They shored up well defensively against the most efficient offense in the country and turned defense into offense in a big way.
And not only did they overcome the double-digit deficits, but they found a way to finish strong and secure another overtime win with a great start there over the Illini.
Now, the Badgers need to be more consistent, and that will have to come in the tournament. But, they’re showing that they can be a threat in any game, even when their gameplan isn’t going according to plan against a top team in the country.
