Bob's buzzer beaters | Illini make themselves at home in Madison
Mar. 2—Bad news for Illinois basketball and Marcus Domask: there are no more scheduled games in Wisconsin this year. And the NCAA tournament doesn't have a site in the state.
Domask, from Waupun (population 11,515) played his one and only game at Kohl Center on Saturday. With many from his hometown in the crowd.
The transfer from Southern Illinois finished with 31 points and eight rebounds, leading Illinois to a 91-83 victory against the fading Badgers.
Surprised he got on the plane to come home.
1. Terrence Shannon Jr. had another strong game, finishing with 23 points. He scored a game-high 14 in the opening half.
The Badgers struggled to slow him down the entire game. They aren't the first team to have that problem.
2. Illinois won't be playing in the Big Ten tournament until Friday's quarterfinals. Saturday's win clinched at least a top four finish for Brad Underwood's team,
3. Next up: No. 2 Purdue. The Boilermakers are the likely top seed in the NCAA tournament, Zach Edey and pals are going to visit a very loud State Farm Center on Tuesday.
4. That makes it a 2-0 week for the No. 13-ranked Illini. And a likely spot in the next Associated Press Top 10. How high depends on what else happens this weekend.
5. Is it just me or does it seem like Chucky Hepburn has been at Wisconsin for 27 years? What's that, he is only a junior?
Hepburn finished with 15 points. It won't be the last time Illinois will see him.
6. Always great to see Dave Revsine at the microphone for BTN. Though he is known primarily for his hosting role at the network, Revsine is a skilled play-by-play announcer.
7. Classy move by BTN to devote part of the broadcast to former Badger player and coach Howard Moore. The one-time Illinois-Chicago coach and Chicago native was at the Kohl Center for the first time since getting badly hurt in a 2019 car accident. His wife and daughter were killed in the accident.
8. LaPhonso Ellis worked as an analyst for BTN. If my memory is correct, he hasn't been assigned to many Illinois games over the years. Not sure if that is intentional or simply a coincidence.
Ellis is in his first year at BTN after a long run at ESPN.
He was part of the NCAA case involving Illini great Deon Thomas. Ellis played at Notre Dame after staring at East St. Louis Lincoln.
9. One week's worth of Caitlin Clark's NIL would be enough to make me happy. I stopped counting the number of State Farm commercials aired during Saturday's game. Cha-ching. Well-deserved for the greatest scorer in college basketball history (soon).
10. It worked for Penn State. Maybe Wisconsin should think about playing a baskeball game at its former home, the UW Field House.
Before moving into the fancy-schmancy Kohl Center in the late 1990s, the 10,600-seat Field House hosted the Badgers for more than six decades.
The arena, located next to Camp Randall Stadium, is the current home for Wisconsin volleyball and wrestling. The capacity is now down to 7.500. Not nearly enough seats for a Big Ten basketball game, but more than adequate for an early season nonconference matchup. Just a suggestion for our beer-drinking, cheese-eating, brat-grilling neighbors up north.
