Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini loss to Badgers

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MADISON, WISCONSIN – FEBRUARY 18: Trent Frazier #1 of the Illinois Fighting Illini dribbles the ball while being guarded by D’Mitrik Trice #0 of the Wisconsin Badgers in the first half at the Kohl Center on February 18, 2019 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

The Illinois basketball team about pulled off another upset but fell just short to the Wisconsin Badgers on Monday night.

Illinois started this game off well. They came out of the gates firing, going up 10-4 five minutes into the game. There was little scoring in the first half, though. By the 10-minute mark, the score only showed 12-6 in favor of the Illini. This was a real defensive battle almost the entire night.

With five minutes left in the first half, Wisconsin was able to hit a jumper to narrow the deficit to five points at 18-13. The Badgers continued to chip away at the lead and made a dunk to end the first half. Illinois still went into the locker room with a 26-25 lead.

Wisconsin drained a three-point shot to start the second half. This got them their first lead of the game. Illinois fought back and ended up tying the game at multiple times. The Badgers continued to snag the lead, though. With 4:06 left in the game, Illinois tied it up again. But, Wisconsin would score a basket and never look back. The Badgers would go on to win the game, 64-58.

Here are five observations from the Illini loss to Wisconsin.

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