Notes: Illini extend winning streak against Badgers
Mar. 2—MADISON, Wis. — Illinois snapped a lengthy losing streak to Wisconsin with a 71-70 win at the Kohl Center on Jan. 8, 2020. The Illini haven't lost to the Badgers since.
Seven straight wins, including four in a row in Madison after Saturday's 91-83 victory. No team — ever — has won four straight on Wisconsin's home court.
Brad Underwood, of course, provided a little context to Illinois' success against Wisconsin in the last four years.
"I may be wrong, but we're not even halfway there to what Wisconsin's streak was over us, so we've still got a lot of catching up to do," the Illinois coach said.
Underwood isn't wrong. His first win against Wisconsin in 2020 came on the heels of 15 straight wins for the Badgers as they dominated nearly a full decade in the Big Ten rivalry.
"This is such a great program, and it has been for so long," Underwood said about Wisconsin. "Some teams you just kind of play well, and I think our guys always get up to play Wisconsin. I'm not trying to make light of anything. It is quite a feat to come in and win some place four times in a row. Great players and great coaches beating a great program.
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Underwood has stressed the importance of a sixth man since he arrived in Champaign. Production off the bench — spurred on by that first guy to regularly check into the game — is a crucial piece in Underwood's estimation.
Justin Harmon has filled that role, for the most part, this season. The fifth-year transfer guard filled it well Saturday at Wisconsin. Harmon played major minutes in the second half when the Badgers were forced to go small because of 7-footer Steven Crowl's foul trouble, and the Illini veteran finished with 10 points and two rebounds.
"He's been valuable," Underwood said of Harmon. "He never knows when I'm going to put him in. I don't know. It kind of goes from the flow of the game and what it needs, but I think defensively these past few he's been stellar. He's impacted the game. He's a very good free throw shooter. He gives us a lift, no doubt."
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Big Ten Network studio analyst Rapheal Davis released his picks for the All-Big Ten Defensive Team ahead of Saturday's slate of games. The former Purdue standout — and 2015 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year — didn't include any Illinois players among his top five.
Anyone that's been on social media in the last week wasn't surprised after Davis and former Illinois guard Stephen Bardo, who was the 1989 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, had a friendly back and forth on Twitter about what Illini representation among the Big Ten's best defenders.
Terrence Shannon Jr., who helped limit Wisconsin scoring leader AJ Storr to 13 points on 4 of 12 shooting on Saturday, would get a vote from his teammates. Harmon pumped up Shannon's candidacy for both Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year after the win against the Badgers.
"Terrence is probably the toughest person that guards," Harmon said. "He's just a great defender. ... Before the game starts he's already locked in on his guy. He's big time film, too. He watches film and studies the player, so when he gets in the game he knows what to do. He just excels at it."
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The Illinois coaching staff was in suits and ties for Saturday's game. A rarity in the wake of the 2020-21 season changed by the COVID-19 pandemic when coaches ditched semi-formal wear for a more comfortable business casual look.
But Saturday was about dressing for the occasion. Wisconsin honored former player and assistant coach Howard Moore before the game — his first at the Kohl Center since the tragic car accident in May 2019 that claimed the lives of his wife, Jennifer, and daughter, Jaidyn.
Moore and his son, Jerell, survived the incident, but the former Wisconsin standout and coach suffered a heart attack during his recovery and has been in a long-term care and rehabilitation facility since.
"We all know Howard," Underwood said. "We make (basketball) about life and death sometimes. It truly isn't in a world where it's very easy to forget there's a lot of things a lot more important. If that didn't bring tears to your eyes today seeing Howard out there, I pity you. That's what this thing is all about. A guy that was instrumental and huge in this profession. I'm honored that (Wisconsin coach Greg Gard) asked us to be a part of this."
Wisconsin announced Saturday that its basketball offices at the Kohl Center would bear Moore's family name. Moore was joined by Badgers teammates Michael Finley, Chris Conger, Shawn Carlin and Tracy Webster in his return and also took a photo with the current team, who wore "Do Moore. Be Moore. 4 Moore" shirts in warmups.
"I'd just like to say from the bottom of my heart, thank you, all of you," Moore's teenage son, Jerell, told the Kohl Center crowd. "You have made this journey for me and my family so much easier and so much more powerful for us to move on and to keep going forward."
Honoring Moore before the start of Saturday's game had the expected effect. Wisconsin opened up a nine-point lead in the first 5 1/2 minutes.
"We knew they were going to make a run early and that the crowd was going to get into it," Harmon said. "We just had to weather the storm, and that's what we did. We knew we had to stay together and stay connected like always."
