Wisconsin Basketball Falls to No. 13 Illinois 91-83: Takeaways and Notes

Greg Gard and the Wisconsin basketball program suffered their second straight loss on Saturday, as the Badgers fell to No. 13 Illinois 91-83.

A late-game collapse sealed the deal for UW once again. With today’s loss, Wisconsin has lost seven of its last nine games. 

Here are some of my takeaways and notes from Saturday’s loss. 

Wisconsin Basketball Got Everyone Involved, But It Wasn’t Enough

Wisconsin’s offense had enough to keep them in it for most of the game before a late Illini run sealed the Badgers fate. It was a balanced effort, as UW had four players log double figures. 

Tyler Wahl led the way for Wisconsin with 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Behind him, Max Klesmit registered 16 points, Chucky Hepburn logged 15, and AJ Storr notched 13 points. On top of that, nine of the ten Badgers who saw playing time in Saturday’s contest scored. 

Though everyone had their fair share, the three-point shooting was the biggest detriment to UW’s chances at victory. The Badgers hit just six of their 16 three-point attempts, while the Illini went 9 of 16 from the floor. Illinois brought the heat and took away the three-point line from Wisconsin for a large chunk of the game, and that was partly what did the Badgers in. 

Wisconsin has done an excellent job this season at spreading the wealth on offense, and today’s game was no exception, but UW just wasn’t able to get over the hump. 

Wisconsin Basketball Had No Answer for Marcus Domask or Terrance Shannon Jr.

In his return to the state, Waupan native Marcus Domask led the way for the Fighting Illini and lit up the Kohl Center. 

In 35 minutes, Domask registered 31 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and a block while shooting 12 of 21 from the floor and 4 of 6 from three-point range. 

“He hit some tough ones, give him credit,” Greg Gard said postgame. “I just felt that we needed to force him into tough shots and minimize the threes, but he’s a hard matchup.”

Terrance Shannon Jr. also had a hot hand, recording 23 points on 6 of 13 shooting. The Badgers were able to contain him early, as he didn’t log his first points until nearly 11 minutes left in the first half, but he found his groove and did not look back.

Domask and Shannon combined for 54 of Illinois’ 91 total points as the Badgers struggled to find any sort of answer on the defensive end.

Foul Trouble Hurt the Badgers

Emotions were high today with the honoring of Badgers legend Howard Moore, and that translated onto the court. Saturday’s contest was a physical one, but it spelled trouble for Wisconsin. 

Greg Gard decided to go small, running some four-guard lineups against the Fighting Illini, with Tyler Wahl or Steven Crowl getting some shared time in the lineups. However, Crowl picked up his third foul just under a minute into the second half and was forced to spend some time on the bench. 

“Having Steve in foul trouble, that hurt us a lot,” Chucky Hepburn said postgame. “We were able to dominate the post with Tyler, but (Crowl) is a big factor in the post for us; we run our offense a lot through him.”

John Blackwell was given more opportunity in the four-guard lineups, as the true freshman logged 24 minutes off the bench. His youth did show at some moments, and he eventually fouled out with just under four minutes to go. 

Illinois finished Saturday’s game with 30 free throw opportunities, hitting 24. 

Notes/Final Thoughts

Saturday’s contest was about Howard Moore, who returned to the Kohl Center for the first time since his tragic accident in 2019. He was welcomed with a nearly three-minute-long standing ovation. 

Wisconsin Athletic Director Chris McIntosh also announced at halftime that the men’s basketball offices will be named the “Howard Moore Family Basketball Offices.”

It was a special day for the Wisconsin legend, his family, and the Badgers community as a whole. 

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With the loss, Wisconsin has now lost four straight matchups against Illinois at the Kohl Center. On top of that, UW has not defeated the Fighting Illini since 2019.

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Carter Gilmore was the only Badger to have a positive finish in the +/- category, finishing +4 with three points, one rebound, and one assist. 

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Wisconsin will celebrate Senior Day next week as the Badgers look to get back on track, and honor outgoing senior Tyler Wahl.

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