Takeaways from Wisconsin’s crushing loss to No. 13 Illinois
Wisconsin basketball continued its slide Saturday afternoon with a 91-83 loss to No. 13 Illinois.
Reciting the Badgers’ struggles since the start of February is like a broken record at this point. The team has lost seven of its last nine, with each loss feeling more crushing than the last.
Related: Wisconsin basketball social media despondent after Badgers loss to Illinois
The road will not get much easier for Greg Gard’s team. Up next is a home matchup with Rutgers, before a season-ending trip to West Lafayette, Indiana, to face No. 3 Purdue. Then comes the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments. It doesn’t take a genius to know Wisconsin needs to step up its game to have any hope at a deep run.
Before we get to that, here are our takeaways from the loss to Illinois:
Wisconsin has a defense problem
Wisconsin allowed Illinois to score 91 points on 51.8% shooting overall and 56.3% from 3. The Badgers entered with the 54th-ranked defense in the nation, that number is sure to continue its steep fall after Saturday’s performance.
In their last seven losses, the Badgers have given up 91, 74, 88, 78, 72, 75 and 80. That’s unacceptable for any program, let alone a Wisconsin team that prides itself on defense.
There was no answer after early foul trouble
Foul trouble ruled the day for the Badgers. John Blackwell fouled out. Steven Crowl and Chucky Hepburn both finished with four fouls, A.J. Storr and Max Klesmit each had three and Tyler Wahl had two.
Despite that, Nolan Winter played only three minutes off the bench. This may be focused in all hindsight, but there didn’t seem to be a good enough plan once foul trouble became an issue.
Wisconsin had no effective plan for Marcus Domask
Marcus Domask’s final line: 31 points on 12 of 21 shooting, 4 of 6 from 3 and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line plus eight rebounds and three assists.
Wisconsin had no answer for the Illinois star, even when it became abundantly clear he was going to attack all afternoon. Sometimes you tip your cap to the opponent, other times you wonder if anything else could have been done schematically. This classifies as the latter.
The Badgers again fail to put a full 40 minutes together
Some of the Badgers’ losses since the start of February have been whistle-to-whistle, with the team never looking like the top contender it once was.
But most of the losses have spurts where the team looks to have turned a corner. This was one of those games. Greg Gard’s team came out of the opening tip with an edge. But whenever Wisconsin went on a run, or Tyler Wahl strung together a few key baskets, the team always seemed to fail to get a stop.
That’s what makes this game more frustrating. We can see the title-contending team during moments, until a completely different team shows up in others.
Wisconsin has real issues entering postseason play
Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
This isn’t a surprise, but it still must be said. Wisconsin has lost seven of nine games and it doesn’t feel like a fluke, but rather a significant regression from where the team once was.
The Badgers can’t seem to defend. They aren’t excelling in tight moments. There are stretches where nobody on the court can make a play. These big runs from opponents are killers against a Wisconsin team that struggles to defend.
There has always been “more time in the season to figure it out.” Now, it feels like it’s getting late early for Greg Gard’s team.
Please hold all Greg Gard-related discussions for after the season concludes
I’m not arguing either side here — as is being done in every corner of social media.
But no decision will be made either way until the season is over, this isn’t like college football where programs need head starts on hiring the next coach.
So if the administration will assuredly wait until after the season, then the fan base should as well. I know this loss, paired with the last month, makes it tough to believe that a NCAA Tournament run can still happen, that still is a possibility. Worse teams have gone deep into March.
So, please table the head coach discussion until the season ends.
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