Spinning in mid-air as though he had warmed up by watching cartoons of the Tasmanian Devil, Wisconsin sophomore Tracy Webster went out Thursday night and put on a dazzling one-man show against Illinois in the Wisconsin Fieldhouse.
Webster, a sophomore guard and two-time All-Stater out of Thornton High School, made some gravity-defying moves on the Illini that left them down and dizzy all the way back to Champaign. He wound up scoring a game-high 33 points on 11-of-14 shooting, and added 10 assists, to lead the Badgers to a 92-78 win over the Illini before 9,403 fans and a national TV audience.
The loss for Illinois (10-12, 4-8) effectively put a bullet in its chances of earning an NIT bid. ”It`s going to be tough to get in,” said Illini coach Lou Henson, ”because we`ve got a tough schedule the rest of the way. This makes it pretty difficult for us.”
The 92 points given up were the most allowed by the Illini since a 92-56 loss to Temple in December. Former Proviso East star Michael Finley added 19 points for Wisconsin.
But it was Webster, more than anyone else, who cut through the Illinois defense like it was Swiss cheese.
Entering the game as the Big 10`s most accurate three-point shot with a percentage of .505, he was near-perfect from long-range, canning 5 of 6 threes to keep the Illini on their heels throughout the evening.
The Badgers were 10 of 16 overall in three-point attempts.
When Webster wasn`t killing the Illini from beyond the arc, he simply switched gears and penetrated inside, leaving the Illini defense in tatters.
And when he wasn`t dishing off at the last second to set up a jarring jam by one of his teammates, Webster could be found spinning left and right in the lane, making a handful of unmakeable shots as though he were playing a game of H-O-R-S-E on the playgrounds of his native Harvey.
”Tracy Webster is one of the great guards coming into this league,”
said Henson. ”I don`t know how you`re going to cover him.”
The Illini tried by switching off frequently on the 5-foot-11-inch speedball, employing Rennie Clemons, Brooks Taylor and even 6-8 Tom Michael to cut off Webster`s penetration.
”It didn`t matter who we put on him,” said Henson.
”I don`t think there is anything you can do to stop him,” said Clemons. Despite the lopsided final score, the Illini were still in the game until the final two minutes. But each time they put on a burst, Webster would quickly answer with a big play to stem the tide.
Illinois had cut a 13-point deficit down to three on a pair of free throws by T.J. Wheeler with 7 minutes 30 seconds left, but went four minutes without a field goal to let the Badgers (12-13, 3-9) regain control.
A Clemons bucket and a three-pointer by Wheeler brought them back to within five at 80-75 with 2:34 remaining, when Webster came to the rescue.
He moved inside, drew Deon Thomas to his side and then flipped a short pass to Carlton McGee for a monster jam. On Illinois` next possession, Webster stole the ball underneath the basket from Scott Pierce, and then hit two free throws to build the Badger lead to 10 once more.
”Tracy Webster had a phenomenal game,” said Wisconsin coach Steve Yoder. ”He had his head in the game all night.”
The win was a huge one for Yoder, whose job apparently is in jeopardy. He has one year left on his contract, and he said Wednesday that speculation over his future is hurting Wisconsin`s recruiting. Some signs in the student section read ”Yoder Must Go.”
”We try not to bring that up,” said Webster of Yoder. ”That`s the last thing on our minds right now. You never know what might happen, so you just have to stay focused on basketball.”
