There were a lot of questions about the Wisconsin Badgers heading into the BIG10 Tournament before facing the Illinois Fighting Illini on Sunday in the BIG10 Championship Game. The Badgers and the Fighting Illini kept delivering punches throughout the game, but Illinois won at the end of Wisconsin by a final score of 93-87.
Despite the loss, the Badgers had a 22-14 record before the NCAA Tournament. Entering the conference tournament, they only had 19 wins and there were people questioning whether or not they belonged in the NCAA Tournament.
Defeating the Maryland Terrapins, and the Northwestern Wildcats, and upsetting the Purdue Boilermakers in the BIG10 tournament shows the Badgers are ready to make a deep run in March Madness. They will be a five seed in the tournament and face the James Madison Dukes on Friday night in Brooklyn, New York.
Wisconsin showed signs of being the team they were earlier in the season and there was a reason why they were the sixth-ranked team in the nation at one point. The Badgers have put some teams on notice before the tournament, even with the loss against the Fighting Illini.
Head coach Greg Gard knows that his basketball team is in a better spot now than they were entering the BIG10 Tournament. One of the reasons why the Wisconsin Badgers will be a force in March is because AJ Storr has turned up the heat. He scored 24 points, grabbed five rebounds, and recorded one assist against Illinois.
Chucky Hepburn scored 20 points, grabbed five rebounds, and recorded five assists. Max Klesmit got back into a groove for Wisconsin by scoring 16 points and Steven Crowl also added 11 points for the Wisconsin Badgers.
Illinois Fighting Illini Was Led by Terrance Shannon Jr. Against the Wisconsin Badgers
There were only two players who scored in double figures for Illinois, but they dominated the score sheet for them against Wisconsin. Terrance Shannon Jr. erupted for 34 points in the game and the Badgers defense had no answer for him. He also grabbed four rebounds and recorded two assists for head coach Brad Underwood.
Marcus Domask also scored 26 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and recorded eight assists for the Illinois Fighting Illini. The Badgers’ defense has not been good over this stretch, but Illinois has been very good offensively throughout the year and earned themselves a three-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Badgers went further in the BIG10 Tournament than people thought. With the win for the Fighting Illini, they improved to 27-8 on the year.
