Wisconsin’s Badgers got their turn Sunday.
Their turn to drape themselves in championship T-shirts and baseball caps.
Their turn to haul away a championship trophy.
And Illinois helped make it all possible.
The 10th-ranked and second-seeded Badgers (23-6) upended Illinois 70-53 Sunday at Conseco Fieldhouse to win their first Big Ten tournament title.
They brought Illinois’ 12-game winning streak to a screeching halt one week after No. 12, and top-seeded Illinois (24-6) celebrated its first regular-season outright conference championship in 52 years.
Devin Harris, the Big Ten’s player of the year, scored 29 points and was a unanimous choice as the tournament’s outstanding player. From the last 1 minute 8 seconds in the first half through the first 61 1/42 minutes of the second half, Harris scored 14 straight for Wisconsin.
“[Harris] is very deceptive,” Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. “He doesn’t look quick, but he is quick. As soon as he gets his shoulder by you, it’s old-school basketball.”
The Wisconsin junior was joined on the all-tournament team by teammate Mike Wilkinson, Illinois’ Dee Brown and Deron Williams, and Northwestern’s Jitim Young.
– – –
Past tense
The Big Ten has held a conference tournament since 1998, but winning the title has brought a very mixed bag of results in the Big Dance. Look at the conference tourney winners and what happened to them on the national stage.
1998
Big Ten final: Michigan beat Purdue, 76-67.
NCAA seed: No. 3
NCAA result: After dumping Davidson 80-61 in the first round, the Wolverines fell to UCLA, 85-82. Steve Lavin’s Bruins hounded Michigan, managing to hold center Robert “Tractor” Traylor to just eight shots. The Wolverines shot just 36.4 percent in the first half.
1999
Big Ten final: Michigan State beat Illinois, 67-50
NCAA seed: No. 1
NCAA result: The Spartans marched to the Final Four and lost to Duke, 68-62. Michigan State had closed to 51-48, with Duke center Elton Brand on the bench with four fouls. But a timely three-pointer by the Blue Devils’ Trajan Langdon kept the Spartans at bay.
2000
Big Ten final: Michigan State beat Illinois, 76-61
NCAA seed: No. 1
NCAA result: There was no stopping this Spartans juggernaut, better known as the 2000 NCAA champions. After an early second-half ankle injury, senior Mateen Cleaves hobbled back onto the court to lead the Spartans over Florida, 89-76.
2001
Big Ten final: Iowa beat Indiana, 63-61
NCAA seed: No. 7
NCAA result: The Hawkeyes smacked Creighton 69-56, then got trampled by Kentucky, 92-79.
2002
Big Ten final: Ohio St. beat Iowa, 81-64
NCAA seed: No. 4
NCAA result: Like Michigan in 1998, the Buckeyes beat Davidson, 69-64. But Missouri ousted them in the second round, 83-67. “We kind of ran into a buzz saw,” Buckeyes coach Jim O’Brien said.
2003
Big Ten final: Illinois beat Ohio St., 72-59
NCAA seed: No. 4
NCAA result: The Illini survived Western Kentucky, 65-60, then fell to Notre Dame, 68-60. Brian Cook led the Illini with 19 points and 16 rebounds, but he shot just 6-for-23. Irish senior Dan Miller torched Illinois, going 5-for-5 on threes.
———-
Edited by Phillip Thompson (plthompson@tribune.com) and Victoria Rodriguez vrodriguez@tribune.com)
