Illinois is alone at the top.
After slipping and sliding early Tuesday night, the Illini regained their equilibrium with 19 unanswered points and claimed sole possession of first place in the Big Ten with a 66-51 victory over Wisconsin.
The decisive way the Illini won seemed to stun the crowd of 17,142. The fans had come to the Kohl Center with reason to believe the Badgers would break the four-way deadlock with Illinois, Iowa and Michigan and take over first place. The home-court advantage has been a compelling factor in the Big Ten this season and the Badgers had lost only one conference game at home in the five years Bo Ryan has been their coach–against the Illini last year.
“To come here and win two years in a row is so unbelievable,” said Dee Brown, who played all 40 minutes and had 16 points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steals for the Illini (20-2, 6-2 Big Ten). “This is bigger than last year, considering the two losses we had on the road. This was a huge boost for confidence, individually and as a team.”
Ryan was impressed.
“I would say they’re about the best we’ve seen so far,” he said. “I’ve said that before–because of their seniors at the point (Brown) and in the post (James Augustine) and a lot of good athletes who get things done in a positive way.”
Brown made it a point to praise the roles played by Brian Randle, Rich McBride and Jamar Smith.
“Before the game [coach Bruce Weber] talked about being special,” he said. “They were special.”
Randle added 12 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds for the first double-double of the 6-foot-8-inch sophomore’s career. Picking up where he left off in Saturday’s victory over Purdue, McBride made 4 of 6 six shots from beyond the three-point arc and scored 16 points. Smith sank all four of his shots–two of which were threes–and added 12 points.
Winning entailed surmounting the foul problems of three starters–first Augustine, then McBride and then Randle. All finished with four fouls.
With guard Kammron Taylor and forward Alando Tucker delivering a 1-2 scoring punch, the Illini were staggering after the Badgers used a 14-2 surge to grab a 24-13 lead with 9:17 left in the half.
But then Wisconsin went cold and turned the ball over. The Illini answered with 19 straight points to seize a 32-24 lead. Leading the counterattack were McBride, with his outside shooting, and Randle, with his interior scoring.
An important factor in the run that gave the Illini permanent possession of the lead seemed to be the return of Augustine, who had sat out 7:34 after being whistled for his second foul with only 4:45 elapsed.
“He makes a big difference,” Tucker said. “After he went out we made our run. As soon as he came back in I saw them pick their heads back up.”
The Illini also were energized when Weber went to a three-guard offense, alternately bringing freshmen Smith and Chester Frazier off the bench to play with Brown and McBride.
After being down by six at the half, Wisconsin (15-6, 5-3) made a mild rally to cut the Illinois lead to 44-42.
The Illini answered with an 11-1 run that saw Augustine score two baskets off feeds from Brown, Smith sink his fourth three-point shot, McBride hit a three and Brown add a free throw.
The Illini also succeeded in holding down Taylor in the second half, limiting him to only two points after he scored 12 in the first half.
“We outdid what [we] normally do,” Weber said. “Defense, discipline, rebounding.
“We’ve done that at home when everybody is cheering for us. To do it on the road when everyone is cheering against us is something entirely different. The top seven teams (in the Big Ten) are 2-25 on the road. Us and Michigan State are the only ones able to win.
“It’s a great momentum-builder, a great confidence-builder. They’re a top 10 or top 12 RPI team and now they can’t beat us because they don’t play us again.”
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nmilbert@tribune.com
