As the Badgers continued their six-game losing streak, it was clear that Wisconsin needed a definitive change in order to stop its downward spiral. On Thursday night, strong defense and hustle opportunities gave the Badgers all they needed, as Wisconsin defeated the No. 23 Illinois Fighting Illini, 63-50.
In Wisconsin's previous three contests, the Badgers allowed their opponents to shoot 50 percent or better from the field. But in this game the Badgers clamped down, as the Illini shot just 32.8 percent for the game, including 4-of-21 from 3-point range.
Junior guard Jason Bohannon said the biggest difference in this change was in Wisconsin's defensive intensity from start to finish.
We were making them work for tough shots,"" Bohannon said. ""A lot of the time, when Illinois had the ball, we were playing 35 seconds of defense. Any time when you're on the defensive end and you're forcing a team on offense to do that, you're playing to your own advantage.""
Several times during the losing streak, the Badgers gave up leads in the game's final minutes that shifted the momentum, a hurdle that they needed to overcome. After taking a 12-point lead into halftime, the Badgers maintained their composure and maintained at least a 10-point margin the entire second half. Senior forward Marcus Landry said he was proud of his team's ability to make this adjustment.
""Before, losing games came down to the final few possessions, us making mistakes or the other team getting hot,"" Landry said. ""In those games we also had a lead, but today we maintained our lead. That's why we were successful.""
On the offensive end, the Badgers worked hard in the paint in order to open up more scoring opportunities. In the first half, Wisconsin had four offensive rebounds - including three from senior forward Marcus Landry - that resulted in eight second-chance points. Head coach Bo Ryan said this type of play gave the Badgers an advantage by allowing them to rally around the Kohl Center crowd.
""The fans here and the people here are very appreciative of hustle opportunities, it's just the Wisconsin way,"" Ryan said. ""The crowd fed off of it, and I think that had our players feeding off of it. It isn't because in other games you aren't trying to do that. I thought we took advantage of the opportunities that we did get with our hustle.""
In the previous game against Illinois, Bohannon and sophomore forward Jon Leuer struggled offensively with just two points apiece, shooting a combined 2-for-13 from the field. But in this contest both Badgers were able to bounce back, as Bohannon led the way with 20 points and Leuer added 15, starting and filling in for injured sophomore center Keaton Nankivil.
""Last time we got open shots,"" Bohannon said. ""It wasn't that we weren't getting open shots, it's that we weren't hitting them. Tonight we tried to capitalize on the open shots we were getting. We stuck to the rules.""
Now that Wisconsin's losing streak is finally over, the Badgers will try to take the positives from their victory and continue to maintain that consistency the rest of the season.
""We had a tough stretch there,"" Bohannon said. ""There were a lot of games when we were right in it, but didn't pull it out. Tonight we got a lot better at the things we were struggling at earlier. Hopefully we can take that on to the next game and get a little streak out of it.
