Tag: Illinois

The Wisconsin Badgers fell to Big Ten rival Illinois 86-80 on Tuesday night, extending their current losing streak to three games.

A significant story of the game was rebounding. Illinois entered as one of the nation’s top rebounding teams, while Wisconsin has struggled in that area. Those divergent trends led to Illinois grabbing 40 total rebounds to Wisconsin’s 29. The Badgers’ 18 defensive rebounds were barely more than Illinois’ tally on the offensive end (15). That discrepancy explains where the game was mostly decided.

Related: Big takeaways from Wisconsin basketball’s loss to Illinois

There is one glaring number on the box score in that regard. Wisconsin starting center Steven Crowl finished with zero rebounds in 19 minutes, to go along with just nine points on 3-of-9 shooting.

The veteran center is key to the Badgers’ rebounding effort, given his size and position. A lack of production in the area is costly, especially against a team like Illinois with top-end size and rebounding ability.

Wisconsin coach Greg Gard discussed Crowl’s struggles after the game when asked specifically about how Crowl and John Tonje’s quiet offensive night was limiting.

“There’s ways that they can impact the game in other areas,” Gard began. “I think defensively, you look at [Steven Crowl’s] line, he has no rebounds. How do you have no rebounds?”

He went on to specifics on the team’s offensive inconsistency. In his words, due to Tonje and John Blackwell ‘over-dribbling.’ But the focus then returned to how the two veterans can impact the game when they aren’t scoring at a high clip.

“The biggest thing is obviously our 4s and 5s, the rebounding,” Gard continued. “I thought Nolan [Winter] was active and aggressive. He’s still young in terms of what he will he, he showed flashes of how good a player he can be. So I was happy for him.”

The Illinois matchup continued what has been an extended stretch of struggles from Crowl. He’s tallied just 13 total points and eight rebounds over the last three games, all losses, on 5-of-19 shooting and 1-of-7 from three.

He is play is an undeniable key to Wisconsin’s success. When he plays well, offensively and defensively, the team tends to win. His recent struggles, meanwhile, have directly correlated with a three-game losing streak against tough competition.

Gard has publicly expressed his desire for Crowl to be more aggressive in previous years. We’ll see what this sentiment on his rebounding tally leads to. Wisconsin is back on the court on Saturday for a neutral site matchup with Butler. The Badgers badly need a win with an extended holiday break upcoming.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion.b