Illinois-Wisconsin Full-Court Vision: Live Blogging, Commentary & Analysis

6:58 p.m. Update: Illinois wins 69-61.

Given the quality of opponent, Illinois played its best game all season long in terms of sustaining its effort, concentration and intensity.

Demetri McCamey led the Illini with 21 points and carried the team during a crucial spot in the second half.

With that said, Mike Davis was huge tonight, providing the Illini with an interior toughness that’s been missing for three seasons.

Davis had 11 points on an efficient 5-for-8 shooting and grabbed 14 rebounds.

Starting for an injured Jereme Richmond, who played with a tweaked Achilles, Bill Cole added 11 points and sparked the Illini early with his effort on both sides of the court.

Beyond McCamey, Davis and Cole, no other Illini scored in double digits, though the team had good balance and everyone who played scored with the exception of Tyler Griffey and Joseph Bertrand.

All in all, with the exception of turnovers, Illinois was the sharper team, shooting 23 free throws (making 17 of them) and keeping Wisconsin, the best free-throw shooting team in the Big Ten, off the line for the most part. Wisconsin only got 12 free throws, making 9 of them.

While far from perfect defensively, Illinois played with good purpose on this end of the ball. Wisconsin shot just 34 percent from the field, hoisting up far too many threes (35) and connecting on only 10 (28.6%) of those shots.

Far more judicious with its offense, Illinois shot approximately 50% and was 6-for-15 from three.

Give the players and coaching staff a lot of credit on an impressive victory.

When Illinois plays with such urgency, it truly is a very dangerous team.

Now if the team can only sustain such effort.

Until tomorrow and the Hoops Musings for the Morning After.

Out of Under 4

• Illinois comes out with starting lineup of Tisdale, Davis, Cole, Richardson and McCamey.
• Taylor makes both free throws.
• Illinois is shooting 56%; Wisconsin 34%.
• D.J. Richardson is called for a five-second violation.
• Leuer hits a three.
• Wisconsin has 16 points off Illinois turnovers.
• Illinois with just 4 points off Wisconsin turnovers.
• Illinois leads 63-57 with 1:35 to go.
• Richardson is fouled by Valentyn on the floor.
• Illinois is in the super bonus.
• Richardson makes the first.
• Richardson makes the second.
• Illinois leads 65-57 with 1:35 left.
• Bruce Weber takes a :30 second timeout.
• Paul is in for Tisdale.
• Davis blocks Leuer from behind.
• McCamey draws a blocking foul on Nankivil.
• McCamey hits the first free throw.
• McCamey hits the second with 50 seconds left.
• Taylor gets in the lane and Richardson fouls Leuer at the rim.
• Good foul by Richardson, who didn’t let Leuer get off the easy shot.
• Leuer hits the first.
• Tisdale comes in for Mike Davis.
• Leuer misses the second.
• The ball is knocked out of bounds by Wisconsin.
• Wisconsin takes a timeout.
• The Badgers choose not to foul.
• Tisdale travels with 12.3 seconds left.
• Davis gets Tisdale.
• Taylor hits a three.
• Illinois leads 67-61 with 7.5 seconds left.
• Wisconsin takes a timeout.
• McCamey is fouled with 5 seconds left.
• Jordan Taylor fouls out of the game.
• McCamey hits the first.
• McCamey hits the second.
• Joseph Bertrand comes in for McCamey.
• Valentyn misses a three at the horn.
• Illinois wins 69-61.

6:44 p.m. Update: Illinois leads 63-52 with 2:43 to go.

Demetri McCamey has taken over the game in the last couple of minutes, hitting two threes and attacking the basket and getting to the foul line on several occassions.

Illinois is 7-for-17 from the field in the second half; Wisconsin 7-for-28.

Wisconsin has been in foul trouble for most of the half, and the Illini have taken advantage for the most part at the charity stripe.

It’s time to finish this game off.

Jordan Taylor will be at the free throw line out of the break.

Out of Under 8

• Leuer and Wilson both miss threes.
• McCamey is fouled on the floor by Taylor, who now has four.
• McCamey needs to hit the front end here.
• McCamey makes the first free throw.
• McCamey misses the second and Mike Davis nearly tips it in.
• Taylor is replaced by Jarmusz with 6:57 to go.
• Jarmusz hits a three.
• Wisconsin is 1-for-13 from three in the second half.
• Illinois is up five with six minutes left.
• McCamey misses a layup after blowing by Gasser and getting fouled.
• Davis hustles down the rebound.
• Weber takes a timeout as the shot clock did not reset.
• Illinois has five seconds to score.
• Illinois comes out with McCamey, Davis, Tisdale, Cole and D.J.
• Illinois has been good on inbound plays all night.
• The Illini could use another well-designed and executed play.
• McCamey is fouled on a beautiful backdoor play out of the timeout.
• Wisconsin has 10 fouls now.
• McCamey hits the first free throw and the second.
• Taylor is back in as Illinois leads by seven.
• Davis fouls Leuer on the floor.
• I can live with that foul as Leuer was getting ready to attack.
• Nankivil misses a baseline jumper. Cole with nice help defense.
• McCamey hits a huge three.
• Taylor drives in the lane and misses.
• Nankivil got the board.
• Taylor misses an open three.
• McCamey drives on Wilson and draws the foul.
• McCamey is taking over here.
• McCamey misses the first.
• McCamey hits the second.
• Brett Valentyn is in for Wisconsin.
• Paul gets McCamey just before the under four timeout.
• Leuer misses a three.
• Taylor tracks down the board.
• Jarmusz misses the three.
• Valentyn keeps it alive.
• Taylor hits a three.
• Wisconsin takes a timeout.
• Illinois leads 60-52 with 3:32 to go.
• McCamey comes in for BP3.
• McCamey buries a pop-back three with the shot clock down.
• Taylor draws a foul on Richardson.

6:30 p.m. Update: Illinois leads 53-46 at the under-8.

The Illinois offense has stalled a bit and needs to start moving the ball around the perimeter.

Wisconsin has been brutal from the field in the second half, missing 10 threes, some of which have been wide open.

However, Jordan Taylor is starting to pick it up and attack off the dribble.

Illinois needs to contain and keep attacking on offense.

Out of Under 12 Timeout

• Leonard misses the free throw, but Wisconsin commits a lane violation.
• Leonard hits the free throw.
• Illinois has D.J., Davis, Leonard, Paul and Richmond on the floor.
• I don’t remember seeing this lineup at all this year.
• Taylor misses a three and Paul grabs a tough board.
• Richmond has a layup blocked out of bounds.
• He lacked explosion there due to his Achilles.
• That was a nice play nonetheless.
• Richardson misses a face-up thee with the shot clock running down.
• Leuer misses another open three.
• Illinois caught a break there.
• Paul misses a driving layup with the shot clock down.
• Leonard knocks the ball out of bounds.
• Tisdale and McCamey are in for Leonard and Paul.
• Taylor with a nice hesitation dribble and score.
• Illinois needs to keep attacking.
• Richardson misses a tough elbow jumper.
• Created some space with the dribble.
• Taylor hits a quick jumper.
• Illinois leads 53-44 with 9 minutes left.
• Tisdale with a nice entry pass to Davis, who was fouled on the floor and had the smaller Taylor on him.
• Davis will have a one and one.
• Nankivil is back in.
• Davis has 11 points and 11 rebounds.
• Davis misses the front end of the one and one.
• Taylor gets in the lane, loses the ball but slaps it to Rob Wilson for a layup.
• Richmond misses a baseline jumper.
• Richardson is called for a foul on the floor while guarding Taylor.

6:21 p.m. Update: Illinois leads Wisconsin 50-40 at the under-12 timeout.

As Rasheed Wallace used to say, the ball don’t lie.

After Bill Cole was called for a phantom foul while blocking a Jon Leuer dunk attempt, Illinois has responded with Jereme Richmond feeding Meyers Leonard for nasty dunk plus the free throw out of the break.

For the most part, Illinois is controlling this game and playing much tougher than the Badgers.

I’ve been very impressed with Illinois’ effort thus far.

The team is playing hard and Bruce Weber is really coaching them up today.

Let’s see if Illinois can put some more distance between itself and the Badgers.

Out of Wisconsin Timeout

• Paul picks up a foul on the floor.
• Leuer misses an open shot.
• McCamey with a tough lob to Paul, who just couldn’t finish. Bruesewitz just altered that play.
• Bruesewitz misses a three but corrals the rebound.
• Nankivil misses a tough shot in the lane.
• Taylor steals the ball from McCamey.
• Cole blocks Leuer at the rim but is called for a very bad foul.
• Terrible call there.
• Leuer hits the first free throw.
• Leuer hits the second.
• Cole and McCamey are replaced by D.J. and Richmond.
• Richmond feeds Leonard for a dunk plus the foul.
• Great play by the Illini.
• Under-12 timeout.

6:16 p.m. Update: Illinois leads 48-38 with about 13 minutes left following a Bill Cole three in transition that caused Bo Ryan to call a timeout.

Mike Davis started that break with a very strong defensive rebound and is doing a nice job on the glass after having a quiet rebounding game at Iowa.

Wisconsin has been frigid from beyond the arc in the second half and is surprisingly settling for a lot of threes rather than feeding the ball to Leuer in the post.

Demetri McCamey assisted on the three and hit two of three free throws on the prior possession after getting fouled on a three-point attempt.

Out of Under 16

• Illinois comes out with McCamey, Paul, Leonard, Davis and Cole.
• Davis with a nice post denial of an entry pass to Leuer that was knocked out of bounds.
• Leuer misses a deep three and Taylor commits a foul on Davis while going for the long rebound.
• McCamey misses a driving floater. Nice move but didn’t get the shot to foul.
• Leonard is guarding Leuer down low.
• Taylor misses a deep throw and Ryan Evans goes over the back of Cole.
• Nice box out and positioning by Cole.
• McCamey gets fouled on a three-point shot.
• Weber is looking to get McCamey going off the ball. Good strategy here.
• McCamey hits two of three free throws.
• Wisconsin with six fouls.
• Bruesewitz misses a corner three and Davis gets a big board.
• Illinois pushes and Cole hits a corner three.
• Wisconsin takes a timeout.
• Illinois leads 48-38.

6:09 p.m. Update: Illinois leads 43-38 at the under-16.

Illinois has committed two straight turnovers and needs to be better with the basketball.

The shooting has slowed down for both teams.

Out of Second Half

• Mike Davis misses an open baseline jump.
• Good play just didn’t convert.
• Nankivil misses a three.
• Much better closeout from Tisdale.
• Tisdale with a nice post and pass to Davis for a layup plus the foul.
• Davis makes the free throw.
• Jarmusz in for Gasser.
• Taylor misses a tough jumper over D.J.
• A nice job of moving his feet by Richardson.
• Tisdale picks up an off-the-ball offensive foul.
• That’s a bad foul and his third.
• Weber is keeping Tisdale in the game.
• Bruesewitz hits Leuer on a backdoor cut for a dunk.
• Tisdale misses a wide-open three from the top of the key.
• Nankivil misses a jumper.
• Davis gets a nice board.
• McCamey is fouled on an aggressive drive.
• McCamey makes one of two.
• Davis follows the miss with a rebound and put back.
• Illinois leads 43-36.
• Jarmusz misses a three from the top of the key.
• Leuer gets the offensive board and score.
• Davis can’t score on an alley-oop pass.
• Jarmusz misses a corner three.
• Richardson with a lazy pass on the break to Cole that is knocked out of bounds.
• Paul and Leonard are in for D.J. and Tisdale.
• Cole misses a three off the inbound.
• Leonard hustles down the rebound and draws a foul, getting pushed of of bounds.
• Paul passes up a three and runs some time.
• Paul with a lazy entry pass to Leonard that is stolen.
• Illinois with six turnovers.
• Berggren with a nice move in the post but misses a chippy over Leonard.
• Davis turns the ball over on the baseline.
• Under-16 timeout.

5:46 p.m. Update: Illinois leads 37-34 at the break.

Wisconsin closed the half on a bit of a run, trimming a seven-point deficit to three.

Illinois has not been a good team at finishing halves strong.

Illinois shot 66% from the field in the first 20 minutes.

Can the Illini sustain the hot-shooting in the second half?

Illinois will also need to tighten up on the defensive glass as Wisconsin started to exert itself on the offensive boards at the end of the first half.

The Illini got good performances from Bill Cole, Brandon Paul and Demetri McCamey in the first half.

Mike Tisdale had a great stretch for a couple of minutes before following up with some bad decisions on several straight possessions. He was 4-for-4 from the field.

The Illini need to get D.J. Richardson and Mike Davis more involved.

Richardson has been quiet while Davis has done some little things well and been active.

Illinois gave up at least four threes, three by Keaton Nankivil and one by Tim Jarmusz, as a result of not closing out quick enough.

The Illini need to run the Badgers off the three-point line.

A much higher-scoring game than expected, the second half should become more of a grinder.

Out of the Under Four

• Illinois is shooting 68 percent.
• Illinois has its starting lineup out on the floor.
• Taylor misses a tough shot over Cole, who has been fantastic thus far.
• Great defense there.
• McCamey with a sloppy turnover in the pick and pop with Tisdale.
• Some confusion there: Tisdale popped, McCamey passed as if he was going to roll.
• Tisdale fails to close out on Nankivil, who hits a wide open three.
• Weber saw that coming and was calling for Tisdale to close out before the ball was reversed.
• Tisdale charges over Taylor in the pick and roll game.
• Illinois now has 4 turnovers, 2 in the last 2 possessions.
• Tisdale picks up a grabbing foul on Nankivil.
• A bad foul on the perimeter.
• Two fouls for Tisdale, who hasn’t played smart in the last three possessions.
• Richmond comes in for Tisdale.
• Leuer posts up McCamey, who swipes at the ball and forces a tough shot.
• Bruesewitz rebounds and Richmond fouls him.
• Bruesewitz makes one of two but Wisconsin secures the rebound.
• Bruesewitz misses a tough jumper.
• Paul misses a three.
• McCamey gets the offensive board but is called for an over-the-back foul.
• Jordan Taylor will shoot the one and one.
• Taylor hits the first.
• Taylor hits the second.
• Illinois leads 35-34 with 52.1 seconds left.
• Mike Davis hits a tough baseline jumper to end the 7-0 Wisconsin run.
• A nice pass by Paul.
• Taylor misses a jumper over Richardson.
• Nankivil gets the board but Illinois swipes it away.
• Paul doesn’t get up a 75-footer before the horn.
• Illinois leads 37-34 at the half.

5:36 p.m. Update: Illinois leads 35-28 at the under-4.

Mike Tisdale has finally gotten going in the last couple of minutes, scoring six straight points, two times off the pick and pop and another time off a nice post up of Mike Bruesewitz.

Illinois has hit 9 of its last 11 shots, and is playing with much better defensive intensity.

Bruce Weber is having a very nice first half as the Illini have scored at least three times out of television timeouts.

Illinois needs to close out the half strong here.

Out of the Under 8

• Mike Tisdale hits a pick and pop jumper.
• Leuer  misses a fadeaway over Davis. Nice help from Cole.
• Tisdale hits a half hook over Bruesewitz.
• Illinois is 14-20 from the field and has 16 points in the paint.
• Taylor misses a difficult runner that Davis grabs.
• McCamey misses a tough three. Need more patience there.
• Jarmusz hits a three over McCamey.
• Tisdale hits another jumper in the pick and pop.
• Illinois has killed Wisconsin in recent years with the pick and pop.
• D.J. Richardson picks up a foul on Taylor.
• Under-4 timeout.

5:31 p.m. Update: Illinois leads 29-25 at the under-8.

The Illini have hit 7 of their last 8 shots and are playing with good intensity.

Bill Cole (8 points) and Brandon Paul (7 points) are providing a great lift, and the defense has been better since Wisconsin got off to a hot start.

Cole is playing with great confidence and making an impact in all areas of the game, hitting open shots, grabbing offensive rebounds and taking charges.

Bruce Weber has done a nice job of running some inbound plays for Paul, who has gotten off to a very nice start after struggling in recent weeks.

Out of the Under-12

• Meyers Leonard is in the game for the Illini.
• McCamey, Richmond, Paul and Davis join him.
• Paul hits a three off the inbound.
• Nice play from Weber.
• Leuer misses a three that Paul knocks out of bounds off of a Wisconsin player.
• Illinois leads 20-19 with 10:19 to go.
• Wisconsin is called for an off-the-ball foul.
• Paul draws a blocking foul off another inbound play set up for him.
• Give Weber credit: he is looking to get Paul going early here.
• Paul hits the first free throw.
• Paul makes the second.
• 5 straight points for BP3.
• Illinois brings some full-court pressure.
• Tim Jarmusz misses a three but Berggren gets the rebound and is fouled by Paul.
• Berggren hits the first, misses the second.
• Leonard is called for movin gscreen.
• Tisdale and Tyler Griffey are in for Leonard and Davis.
• Taylor and Leuer are taking a quick break.
• Nankivil hits a three. Griffey didn’t get back in time after helping on a screen, and Tisdale didn’t come over and help.
• Gasser is called for a foul down low on Tisdale.
• Cole and D.J. are in for Davis and McCamey.
• Griffey misses a jumper but Cole gets a big rebound.
• Gasser fouls Illinois on the floor. Two quick fouls for Gasser.
• Rob Wilson comes in for Wisconsin.
• Cole hits a three.
• Bill Cole is playing with a lot of confidence.
• Wilson misses a three.
• Tisdale with a strong rebound.
• Richardson turns it over on a sloppy pass.
• Leuer backs in and hits a half hook over Griffey.
• D.J. hits an elbow jumper. Nice feed from Paul.
• Evans gets away with a travel but loses the ball on a drive.
• Paul with a great hesitation and dribble drive lefty layup.
• Wisconsin takes a timeout.
• Illinois leads 29-25 with 6:36 to go.
• Illinois brings full-court pressure.
• Illinois has hit 7 of its last 8.
• Davsi is in for Griffey.
• McCamey is in for Paul.
• Cole takes a charge on a driving Wilson.
• Under-8 timeout.

5:18 p.m. Update: Wisconsin leads 19-17 at the under-12.

That segment was short lived due to the under-16 timeout not coming until the 13-minute mark.

Jereme Richmond and Mike Davis have both gotten on the board for the Illini.

Out of Under-16

• Illinois comes out with Jereme Richmond and Brandon Paul for Cole and D.J.
• Taylor hits a a jumper over Tisdale.
• Richmond forces a jumper from the top of the key, but gets a lucky bounce off the back iron.
• Tisdale blocks a shot by Bergen.
• Taylor misses a three.
• Davis with a nice drive off the dribble and push shot.
• Richmond loses Evans, who gets inside and hits a layup. Good help by Tisdale.
• Brandon Paul is fouled on the floor.
• That takes us to the under-12 timeout.

5:13 p.m. Update: Wisconsin leads 15-13 at the under-16.

Both teams are struggling to contain the dribble drive.

Demetri McCamey is doing a nice job of getting in the lane and dishing to his teammates for easy buckets or good looks.

Wisconsin’s big men, Jon Leuer and Keaton Nankivil, are off to a hot start. Both have nasty dunks and have hit a couple of threes.

Leuer has 7 points, Nankivil 5.

Bill Cole has started for Jereme Richmond, who has an Achilles tweak.

Cole has five quick points, though he missed his last two shots.

Game Start

• Eric Collins and Shon Morris are tonight’s announcers.
• Wisconsin starts Jordan Taylor, Josh Gasser, Jon Leuer, Mike Bruesewtiz and Keaton Nankivil.
• Illinois starts Demetri McCamey, D.J. Richardson, Bill Cole, Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale.
• Richmond will play but has an Achilles tweak, according to Collins. Cole starts in his place.
• Illinois wins the tip but Mike Tisdale is called for stealing it.
• Mike Davis on Leuer.
• Nankivil hits a three over Tisdale.
• McCamey has his passed kicked away.
• Bill Cole hits a three off the inbound.
• D.J. on Taylor.
• Gasser air balls a three that D.J. corrals.
• McCamey misses a curl jumper.
• Leuer misses a turnaround over Cole.
• D.J. drives but has his layup blocked by Nankvil.
• Cole rips down a missed three by Leuer.
• Davis misses an open elbow jumper, set up by a nice drive and pass from McCamey.
• Nankivil misses an open three. Tisdale with a terrible close out.
• McCamey hits a tough layup.
• Illinois is taking some quick shots.
• Taylor buries a three.
• Richardson with a sloppy pass to Davis that is stolen away.
• Taylor misses a quick jumper.
• McCamey with a nice dish to Cole, who slams in the ball. Great drive and dish.
• Leuer dunks over McCamey. Davis with a poor defensive play on post feed.
• Davis dunks, set up by another nice drive and dish by McCamey.
• Nankivil blows by Tisdale for a baseline slam.
• Cole misses an open look.
• Leuer buries a three over Davis.
• McCamey with a great drive and left-handed layup.
• Wisconsin can’t keep McCamey out of the lane.
• Leuer finishes on the inside off great movement by the Badgers.
• Cole misses a corner three.
• Tisdale crashes the board and lays the ball in. Nice play.
• Cole is called for a foul on an entry pass to Bruesewitz.
• Finally the television timeout with 13:35 to go.

Illinois and Wisconsin tip off in less than 15 minutes.

Writing Illini will provide updates throughout the game and on the homepage at each television timeout.