The No. 18-ranked Wisconsin Badgers knew they had a tough opponent ahead when they saw the No. 1 Fighting Illini on the schedule. The Badgers knew that it would be a even more difficult task with the 38-game home-winning streak that had been painted across the Kohl Center waiting for a team like the Illini to wipe away.
The opening possessions for the Badgers did not go quite according to plan. Senior guard Sharif Chambliss fouled junior forward James Augustine. Augustine flushed the first of his two free throws to score the first point of the game.
The next few Badger possessions were characterized by a pair of turnovers committed by sophomore guard Kammron Taylor and one blocked 3-point attempt from senior guard Clayton Hanson.
For a while, it looked as though the Illini were going to be able to dictate the tempo and flow of the game. The Badgers, however, were able to pull themselves into contention on the strength of their 3-point shooting.
The first Badger to connect from long range was Hanson, who pulled the Badgers to 6-9. Next, junior forward Ray Nixon, who had come off the bench to provide Taylor a chance to get his head together, provided more than just a breather for the sophomore guard.
Nixon went on a 3-point shooting tear going 3-4 in less than four minutes. In fact, both teams traded blows from beyond the arc for seven straight possessions.
The Badgers struggled to take care of the ball throughout the game. Taylor had three turnovers and sophomore forward Alando Tucker had two, but the Badgers were not stung as badly as they should have been from the miscues.
The Illini missed lay-ups in transition from the Badger giveaways and were unable to convert a few easy lay-ups in the first half that could have changed the tight feel of the game.
The Badgers hung tight in the first half and entered the intermission trailing by a count of 35-33.
Early in the second half the Badgers turned to their biggest playmakers. Senior Mike Wilkinson, who had been held to five points in the first half on one of three shooting, and Tucker, who had been deathly silent in the first half shooting only three times from the floor and missing all three, helped bolster the squad.
Wisconsin mounted a 14-4 run that lasted nearly eight minutes. Tucker and Wilkinson combined for 12 of Wisconsin's 14 points. Wilkinson also had a key steal early in the run that helped foster momentum for the Badgers.
Following the run, it looked as though Wisconsin was slowly stumbling down a long sloping hill. The Badgers let their lead and the control of the game slip as senior Jack Ingram, normally a bench warmer, came for senior forward Roger Powell, Jr., drained two 3-pointers within 40 seconds to launch Illinois into the lead, 61-58.
It was during that stretch of play, when the Badgers were unable to muster anything offensively and the Illini fought back, that the game came under serious doubt.
\If we didn't hit that one stretch, and Ingram [hadn't] nailed the two threes ... but you have to give a team credit when they make those plays,"" head coach Bo Ryan said.
With three minutes left to play in the game and the Illini leading 67-64, the Badgers began to look for high percentage shots to try and cut the lead.
Hanson slipped his defender and drove hard to the bucket and tried to lay the ball in left-handed but the shot rimmed out and Illinois gathered up the defensive rebound.
Illinois capitalized on the missed shot with a slam from Augustine that put the Illini up four points.
On the Badgers' next possession, Taylor made a similar drive to the basket but missed an easy lay-up.
""Well if Kam makes the lay-up we already have a time out coming--I'd signaled the time out to the official-but when the ball bounced off the rim... that one hurt us,"" Ryan said.
The Badgers were unable to convert on free throw chances and easy buckets late in the game which ultimately led to Illinois running away with a contest that was in doubt for its entirety.
""The streak is over. You've gotta move on. We're going to come back and with the next team we play, we're gonna play them, then the next team. It's frustrating now, but we're competitors,"" Wilkinson said.
