Big Ten Tourney Time

The Fighting Illini come into action today in desperate need of a win. The season ended with two straight losses, and the word in bracket town is that Weber's squad will need another win to keep them dancing. Bo Ryan will sleep easy tonight win or lose knowing that his Badgers are solidly in, but additional wins in March are never a bad thing. I hope to see an Illini team who fights tooth and nail for what could be the final piece to the puzzle. The Badgers take really good care of the basketball, leading the nation with only 9 turnovers per contest. Ryan's team will try to lull you to sleep on defense before a quick back cut or pick and pop. When this team hits shots they are hard to stop. The keys today will be can the Illini contain the great duo of Jon Leuer and Trevon Hughes, can the Illini prevent falling behind against a team that makes you really work to catch up, and who will step up as the court leader when McCamey takes a seat.

The Illini have turned the ball over a couple of times, and it's allowed the Badgers to score 4 unanswered points, then a foul gives the ball away. If the Illini become complacent, this could change in a hurry.

Tisdale with a baby hook in the lane. He's played a great game! As I type that, he hits his second three of the game. 41-26 Illinois.

The Badgers turn it over. Normally that isn't news, but every missed possession for them is a big deal.

McCamey runs the clock under 5 again and is bailed out with a foul as he drove the lane a little bit out of control. Illinois leads it 36-23 with 12:50 to go in the game.

We dodged a bullet as Bohannon misses his second wide open three of the day.

Tisdale stops a 4-0 Wisconsin run with another 17 footer.

Taylor scores for the Badgers at the 15:25 mark, and those are your first Badger points of the half.

DJ Richardson hits a three, and this one is now a 14 point game. Wisconsin trails the Fighting Illini 20-34... Not good for a team who loves to run the clock, great for a team needing a win to go dancing.

Weber about lost it after an out of bounds call gave the ball to Wisconsin... but a calm coach Price settled him down until things got sorted out, and the call was reversed.

Over three minutes into the half, and neither team could score until DJ is fouled on a three point attempt and he hits 2 of 3. 31-20 Illini with 16:45 to play.

Some internet problems erased the end of the first half notes.

The Badgers miss to close out the half, and the Illini will be happy with a 9 point lead at the break... not exactly a barn burner here, but the score doesn't tell the whole story. If you are an Illini fan you have to be very pleased right now and not just because of the score. The effort is there, the shots are falling, and the team has to sense that they could be 20 minutes away from something big. If you are a Badger fan, you have to be missing a little bit of hair after that. The offense looks lost. Last week the Badgers had a great inside-outside game going that gave the Illini fits... Today the shots are all coming from deep, and nothing is falling. To the credit of the Illini defense, the times the Badgers have gone to the rim, there has been a big guy waiting. The keys to the second half are simple really... Just repeat the first half... that's simple right? Well, just in case, I think the main goal is to come out with the same intensity. Wisconsin doesn't seem to be catching up much with their current strategy, so maybe look for the offense to pick it up a little in this half. If I'm Weber, I just beg my guys to remember what's on the line. The Illini are dominating the boards 22-15, but the Badgers still managed 8 offensive rebounds... you don't see a team with more offensive rebounds than defensive very often. Beyond that, the Badgers are really taking care of the ball as always. They lead the turnover battle 9-1 with DJ Richardson committing 4 in the first 20 minutes. Remember, we could be a half away from dancing... at least I hope they remember...


McCamey is breaking down defenders and shooting the lights out. 29-18 Illinois with 1:45 left.

Bill Cole dives onto the floor for a loose ball and ends up getting fouled... You could just see the Matto points on that one.

McCamey is really looking for his jump shot today.

25-18 after two made Badger free throws.

The Badgers are shooting 19% and 12 of their 16 points have come off of the three or a free throw... not gonna win many like that but the Badgers are doing their best to keep it close.

The Illini lead it 25-16 as there is another terrible call sending the Badgers to the line. Weber is besides himself but regardless of the call, the Illini are playing tough defense and you have to love that!

Wisconsin now shooting 1 and 1, but still struggling from the line.

Demetri McCamey runs the shot clock down and hits the guarded shot as the buzzer sounds.

Wisconsin hits a three, and it's a 21-16 game with 5 left in the half.

Brandon Paul has missed two wide open shots in the lane... it almost looks like he's rushing a little to get the shot off.

Mike Davis with a nice jump stop in the lane for a 6 footer.

Mike Tisdale gets called for a travel, and I'm not sure WHAT the the ref saw on that one... Tissy executed the pump fake perfectly in my opinion.

Trevon Hughes has now missed 2 of his 4 free throws, and the Illini are thanking him for that as he is normally a good foul shooter.

The Illini with 6 team fouls, and this is something Weber will keep an eye on. He has to love the aggression with taking the ball to the rim, but a team who doesn't do it a lot might not be foul aware.

That's Wisconsin's third air ball of the game... not a good way to gain confidence for a team who shoots a lot... and you may have just seen that as Bohannon passes up a wide open three.

DJ picks up his second foul with 9 left in the first half. The Illini still lead 17-12.

Mike Tisdale with a three! I know the kid can shoot, but he really doesn't take a lot of threes... Leuer answers with a three of his own... it's the battle of the shooting centers.

Weber with a lot of substitutions, perhaps trying to run the floor hard and make Wisconsin alter their offense to keep up?

The Illini are taking it to the basket more than I've seen in a while... very refreshing but we have to knock down our free throws.

Mike Davis slams home a dunk off the great feed from McCamey.

Some quick fouls have given the Badgers some points. 11-8 Illinois with 12:30 left in the first half.

The Badgers have found a way to get after offensive rebounds that seems to be working pretty well as it did last week when the Badgers pulled in 14 offensive boards against the Illini.

A very questionable call gives Leuer a one and one. He misses the free throw, but that looked like NBA continuation to me.

There's a timeout with 15 left in the first, and the Illini are up 9-3. The intensity is up, and the shots have been falling so far. We can't afford to let back for a second though, because as slow as this Badgers team likes to play, they have some scorers who can put up numbers quickly. One thing I have noticed that concerns me is on defense we have switched twice and left DJ to cover the 6'10" Jon Leuer. So far the Badgers have missed on both opportunities, but I'm sure Bo Ryan is letting them know during this timeout.

The Badgers get an offensive rebound and hit a three, but so far the Illini look very good.

Mike Tisdale being very active on offense with the shot fake... twice now he has gotten it to work.

DJ with a three to follow Tisdale's 16 footer, and the Illini come out to an early 5-0 lead. 17 to play.

DJ Richardson has the assignment of guarding Hughes early.