Illinois finale second to none
Badgers' victory in title game ends urgent run, season
INDIANAPOLIS -- For three days, it was a fine Cinderella effort. But in the end, the shoe didn't fit.
Trying to salvage its season in four tumultuous days after four troubled months, 10th-seeded Illinois came up one game short of its NCAA tournament dream, losing to No. 1 seed Wisconsin 61-48 on Sunday in the championship game of the Big Ten tournament.
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''It's tough,'' junior guard Trent Meacham said. ''We came here to play four games and to win four games. To make this championship game and not finish it, it probably hurts a little more.''
When the Illini (16-19) were not given the consolation prize of an NIT bid, it marked the end of the trail for seniors Shaun Pruitt and Brian Randle.
''It's not the way we wanted to go out, obviously,'' a red-eyed Randle said. ''We were on the verge of making the NCAA, and that didn't happen. But at the same time, I know the future's bright for these guys.''
While Illinois loses the two frontcourt players, it will bring in a pair of wings in Jamar Smith, who redshirted this season after his DUI arrest last year, and Kentucky transfer Alex Legion, who will be eligible in December.
But this team, which set a school record for most losses in a season, knows it never should have put itself in the position where it needed a miracle run to reach the NCAA tournament.
''The sense of urgency just came about in this tournament; we should have had it all along,'' junior guard Chester Frazier said. ''This is how we should have played the whole year. It took a while for some of us to figure some things out and get some chemistry going.''
In the regular season, Illinois was 3-13 in games decided by eight points or fewer. In this tournament, it was 3-0 in such games.
But against the regular-season champion Badgers (29-4), who added their second conference tournament title, the Illini's chemistry experiment failed.
Whether it was tired legs, Wisconsin's defense, the tension of a must-win game or a combination of the three, Illinois didn't shoot well and didn't guard well enough.
After leading the tournament through the first three rounds with a 49.3 field-goal percentage, the Illini shot 40.4 percent against the Badgers. They shot 47.5 percent from three-point range in the first three games and 23.1 percent (3-for-13) on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin shot 50 percent (9-for-18) from beyond the arc and 49 percent overall.
''If they're going to shoot like that, it's tough,'' Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. ''I'm shocked it was only 50 percent. To me, it was like they never missed. They stepped up and made shots.''
A 7-0 run at the end of the first half gave the Badgers a 29-22 lead at the break. A 10-4 run at the start of the second half put them on top 39-26. From that point, Illinois, which was running on fumes, never got closer than 11.
Brian Butch led the balanced Badgers with 12 points, followed by Marcus Landry (10), Michael Flowers (nine), Joe Krabbenhoft (eight) and Trevon Hughes (eight), whose sprained ankle was a non-factor.
Pruitt (13) and Calvin Brock (10) led Illinois.
Landry was named the tournament's most outstanding player. Two Illini, Pruitt and freshman guard Demetri McCamey, joined him on the all-tournament team along with Flowers and Michigan State's Drew Neitzel.
''Obviously, we wish it would have been a more successful season,'' said Weber, saddled with his first losing season in 10 years as a head coach. ''But I feel good about our kids. They didn't quit. It's a tough thing to go through four games. We finally figured it out at the end [of the season]. Better late than never.''
Still, like his players, Weber felt a sense of loss.
''We should be sitting here waiting to see where we're going,'' he said. ''Our team was capable of that. Hopefully, we can take this momentum into next season to have a successful year.''
