Was it true? Was it real? Was Wisconsin fully and firmly becoming the strong, reliable defensive force we have known from the past few decades of basketball excellence in Madison? Was Wisconsin in the process of becoming — again — the delightfully annoying team which drives opponents bananas and imposes its will on other teams? There was a mounting body of evidence that the Badgers were creating that necessary identity to overcome their lack of eye-popping, high-end talent on the 2019-2020 roster. They needed to retain that identity and carry it into Wednesday night’s game against Illinois.
After allowing just 28 points in the first half in the Kohl Center, it seemed the Badgers were on the right track. It seemed Wisconsin was going to offer tangible proof that after ping-ponging between success and failure in that 5-5 10-game start to the season, the Badgers were going to craft a five-game winning streak in their next five games and move to 3-1 in the Big Ten.
In the second half, that possibility turned into a stinging defeat. In 15 of those 20 second-half minutes, the Badgers weren’t able to contain Illinois on defense.
In a roughly five-minute span from 9:13 of the second half until 4:16 remaining, Wisconsin allowed just three points and no field goals to the Illini. In that one sequence — which enabled UW to build a seven-point lead — the Badgers were focused and effective at the defensive end of the floor. In the first 11 minutes of the half, and in the last four minutes of the game, however, they lost the plot.
Illinois scored nine points in the first 2:18 of the second half and 19 points in the first 7:45. The Illini posted 26 points in the first 10:47. When Wisconsin clamped down in that five-minute chunk from 9:13 to 4:16, the Badgers were on the verge of showing their resilience late in a game, which is precisely what enabled them to pull that Ohio State win out of the fire. Yet, in the last 4:16 of play, Wisconsin allowed one big bucket after another. Illinois scored 14 points in that span of 4:16, and it was enough — by one aching point — to deal UW a bitter defeat.
Just as it was so sweet to see Wisconsin dig deep on defense to beat Ohio State — holding Kaleb Wesson scoreless in the final 6:32 of regulation — it was a jarring experience to watch Illinois score 14 in the final 4:16 and 43 points in the whole second half to swipe this game from UW’s grasp. One step forward, one step back — this remains the theme of Wisconsin’s season. The Badgers have to find a way to take four steps forward without retreating.