CHAMPAIGN, Ill.-For the second time in less than a month, Wisconsin (7-4 Big Ten, 16-6 overall) had the opportunity to knock off the top-ranked team in the nation when the Badgers invaded Champaign, Ill. Saturday. But behind the trio of Illinois guards and a record crowd of 16,865 in Assembly Hall, the Fighting Illini crushed any hope of a Wisconsin upset for the second time this season with a 70-59 victory.
Illinois senior guard Luther Head proved why he is the leading scorer on the No. 1 Illini, leading all scorers with 26 points and compiling game-highs with eight rebounds and four assists. Together, the starting backcourt, Head and junior guards Dee Brown and Deron Williams, combined for 57 of the Illini's 70 points and 39 of Illinois' 43 second-half points.
\You have three guys that can catch and shoot, dribble, penetrate to the rim and pull up. That's guys developing their game,"" UW head coach Bo Ryan said. ""They've got it going right now and they've played together so they know where the open guy is and they know how to beat the help.""
Wisconsin didn't get much help from anyone aside from sophomore forward Alando Tucker. Tucker single-handedly kept the Badgers in the contest on the offensive end, scoring 17 of his 24 points the second half. The 6'5' forward looked like his old self and showed no signs of the right foot injury that sidelined him for two recent Big Ten contests.
""Once I attacked the lane, I drew a lot of people. I was just trying to be aggressive,"" Tucker said. ""That's one thing you have to be against this team. You have to attack the rim and be aggressive because otherwise, they are going to make you turn it over.""
Saturday's game was eerily reminiscent of Jan. 25 when Illinois ended Wisconsin's 38-game home winning streak. Wisconsin once again matched the Illini punch-for-punch in the first half. UW stayed within one possession of the Illini heading into halftime after Tucker threw down a dunk in the waning seconds of the first half. But UW could have easily been leading at the break, as free throw shooting proved to be the Achille's heel of this Badger team once again, which shot a miserable 25 percent from the charity stripe in the first half and 7-of-16 for the game.
The Badgers managed to pull ahead 28-27 in the opening minutes of the second half on two Tucker free throws, but did not connect on a field goal for the first five minutes of the half. During that stretch, Williams drained back-to-back three pointers and scored eight of his 15 points during a 10-0 Illinois run that gave Illinois the lead for good.
""I think the first play of the second half when we had possession, Luther got it, jump stopped, hit Deron for a 3,"" Illinois head coach Bruce Weber said. ""I think that was kind of a thing that got us going and we realized how we should play the remainder of the game.""
Despite the Illinois run, Wisconsin got within six points on four separate occasions late in the second half. But the Illini squad showed why it is the No. 1 team in the country, matching every UW run with an answer of their own.
""Everyone in the country is waiting for Illinois to lose and think we are not the best team in the country,"" Brown said. ""We just continue to play and hopefully continue to win.\
