Wisconsin basketball is still in a slump. The No. 20 Badgers suffered their third loss in a row on Tuesday night, as they fell prey on the road to the Illinois Fighting Illinis to the tune of an 86-80 score at State Farm Center in Champaign.
Badgers head coach Greg Gard was frustrated at a number of things that led to Wisconsin’s downfall against the Fighting Illini, among which was his team’s lackluster performance on the glass. Wisconsin, who lost to the Marquette Golden Eagles last Saturday and to the Michigan Wolverines on Dec. 3, got outrebounded by a huge margin, with the Fighting Illini coming away with 40 boards to just 29 by the Badgers. Fifteen of Illinois’rebounds came on the offensive glass.
With the Fighting Illini dominating the rebounding battle, they were able to get lots of extra opportunities on offense, as they ended up taking more shots from the field than Wisconsin, 64-63.
Greg Gard rues against Wisconsin basketball’s poor rebounding in loss to Illinois
After the game, Gard even wondered out loud in front of reporters about his bewilderment at Wisconsin big man Steven Crowl failing to register a rebound. The seven-foot senior scored nine points on 3-for-9 shooting from the field and did not have a rebound in the 19 minutes he spent on the floor.
Greg Gard: “I think defensively, you look at (Steven Crowl’s) line, he has no rebounds. How do you have no rebounds?”
#Illinois pounded the glass in the win tonight, and frustrated the Badger big men.
Crowl entered the Illinois game averaging 5.7 rebounds per game to go with a 16.6 percent defensive rebound rate. Those aren’t spectacular numbers but it was still definitely surprising to learn that he finished the contest without a single rebound. In any case, rebounding the ball has been an issue for the Badgers all season long, as they are just 221st in the nation with a 26.5 percent offensive rebound rate and 172nd with a 72.4 percent defensive rebound rate.
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