The Badgers’ takeaways from No. 20 Wisconsin’s 86-80 loss at Illinois

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Eighty points should be enough to win a Big Ten game in the eyes of the University of Wisconsin senior Max Klesmit.

The Badgers have shown that they are hard to beat when they play clean basketball. The problem is that Wisconsin is outdoing itself on offense, making it much harder to get a win than it was in November.

No. 20 Wisconsin remains winless in December and in the Big Ten as Illinois extended its dominance over them to nine games with an 86-80 win.

“If you can get a lead of over 70 in a Big Ten game, that should be far enough,” Klesmit said. “It’s still early, but we have a lot to learn in a short period of time to make it happen.”

Turnovers and rebounds sapped all of Wisconsin’s momentum built through its first eight games, leading to the program’s first three-game losing streak since 1990 in December.

UW’s next opponent? The Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon at a neutral site in Indianapolis

“We have a lot of veterans (in the locker room) and a lot of guys who have been through this before,” the sophomore said Nolan Winters (Team maximum 15 points). “There’s a lot of leadership in the locker room. I wouldn’t say we were ever down. We look forward to the next game with our heads held high and discuss what we need to do better, who needs to get better and in which areas.

“There was a lot of leadership and responsibility taken. I think that’s good… We’re working on it.”

Here are my takeaways from State Farm Center.

One of the key points the Wisconsin staff discussed in the scouting report was that Illinois was a team with strong three-point shooting. The Illini ranked 353rd nationally in team percentage from two (40.6 percent) but were inconsistent in tracking down misses. That wasn’t the case on Tuesday.

The nation’s 51st offensive rebounding team took advantage of the nation’s 154th defensive rebounding team with 15 offensive rebounds, resulting in 16 second chance points. It’s a growing problem for the Badgers, who gave up 13 offensive rebounds against Michigan and 11 on Saturday against Marquette.

“Just not physical enough,” Winter said. “Everywhere from the bigs to the guards, we have to be a lot more physical and alert, controlling a body and then getting the ball. Actually, it’s not just about examining a body and watching someone else pick it up. We have to get much better at this in the future.”

Illinois had nine offensive rebounds in the first half but held to nine points as Wisconsin was good defensively and led the Illini away from the three-point line and free throw line.

The Illini’s six offensive rebounds in the second half hurt because of poor timing. UW allowed one on consecutive possessions, increasing the deficit from three points to seven. Illinois had two-on-two possessions, including one that ended on a tip-in by Tre White with 2:19 left.

UW had just cut the lead to four on a Winter three-pointer, but that tip sparked a 5-0 run from which the Badgers couldn’t recover.

Winter led Wisconsin with seven offensive rebounds and showed he was the mismatched forward they recruited him to be. Winter had eight points on Wisconsin’s first seven possessions of the second half. When he badly missed a three-point attempt, Winter chased down his rebound and finished with contact at the rim.

“He showed how good he can be as a player,” said head coach Greg Gard said.

The three-point play gave the Badgers a 47-46 lead, but the Badgers went over three minutes before making another field goal. UW was never able to regain the lead at times, as five of its 12 turnovers came after taking the lead. Illinois scored 14 points on UW’s errors, and for the third straight game an opponent scored double-digit points on UW’s errors.

“Turnover is killing us because all we do is give them free possession,” Winter said. “That’s kind of the biggest thing I’ve seen in the last three games. It’s killing us.”

Gard watched Steven Crowl‘s stat line and wondered aloud how a 7-foot center could play nearly 19 minutes without finishing with a defensive rebound. On a night where the inability to end possessions with a defensive rebound made the difference, Crowl was the only one of the nine players who didn’t secure at least one rebound.

The senior was more aggressive than in past games, setting up Illinois center Tomislav Ivisic in the low post several times. Still, Crowl continues to struggle with reaching the edge. He was 2 of 5 on two-point shots.

“We know what Steve is capable of and we all believe in him,” Winter said. “We just need to get it out of him more often. We know what he can do and when he gets going it’s scary for the league. We all push him to get better. I know Steve and he will play more aggressively. I know he will, and he will get back to his old self.”

Gard felt the ball was hanging too much as John Blackwell earned the point and John Tonje tried not to move the ball within the offense in the first half and dribbled too much. Blackwell only played 22 minutes and had to sit for a long time due to foul trouble before finally being fouled in the final minute.

“We need to get more out of Blackwell,” Gard said. “We can’t leave him on the bench with two fouls.”

Tonje hasn’t been the same since he returned from West Virginia. Tonje has shot 18 of 50 (36.0 percent) in his last four games, including 8 of 26 in the last two. He also attempted just two free throws, his lowest in seven games.

“Part of that is because we didn’t move the ball well enough to isolate him and improve his attacking ability,” Gard said of Tonje. “The other part is playing on two feet, things we’ve talked about all the time.”

Blackwell didn’t play the final 8:24 because of fouls, Klesmit joined him for the final 7:35, and Crowl finally started making shots before sitting out the final 2:22. In addition, Tonje was 2-7 with two turnovers and the Badgers were down 39-35 at halftime, largely due to the play of their reserve players.

Carter Gilmore And Xavier Amos Tomislav Ivisic alternately guarded and frustrated, not firing a shot until the final 15:13 of the half. The UW duo did more than just guard. Gilmore hit his first three shots and was active in the low post.

“I think he’s giving us everything he’s got,” Gard said of Gilmore. “He was really embraced and thrived in the role he played.”

Amos had five points and a chase-down block against Kasparas Jakucionis in transition. Amos played 10 minutes in the first half after playing six in each of the last two games, but was limited in the second half after Gard thought he had tweaked his ankle.

“Xavier continues to learn as we get through this difficult period,” Gard said.

Jack Janicki Crowl hit the left block on a roller for a layup and blocked forward Morez Johnson Jr. at the rim with his offhand. When Gard saw Janicki finish with three points, two rebounds and three assists with no turnovers, he felt he needed to give him more minutes.

The bench contributed 15 of its 19 points in the first half while Gard’s starters sat out due to fouls.

“I have options. That’s the beauty of a bank. I can lean on the bench a little more, which I did tonight, and I may need to do more in the future.”

4.3 – Crowl’s scoring average over the last three games as the senior is 5 of 18 from the floor.

7 – Wisconsin missed free throws, most in a single game this season. The Badgers’ shooting percentage of 66.7 percent from the line was also the worst of the season.

9 – Wisconsin has not beaten Illinois since February 18, 2019. The Badgers’ average margin of defeat in those nine losses is 8.2 points.

14:42 – The Badgers were already in the bonus after ten possessions in the second half. Wisconsin missed the front end of the bonus on its seventh and ninth team fouls.

6-to-1 – Support-to-sales ratio of Wisconsin’s four reserves.

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