6th ranked Purdue did its part, knocking off 10th ranked Michigan State 76-64. But the 11th ranked Wisconsin Badgers couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain, falling to unranked Illinois 63-56 at the Kohl Center.
The Badgers saw their 18-game home court win streak come to an end, as well as their 51-game win streak against unranked Big Ten Teams under Bo Ryan at the Kohl Center.
AUDIO: Bo Ryan on seeing win streak end. :14
Junior guard Demetri McCamey scored 27 points and junior center Mike Tisdale added 19 points for the Illini, who have won 5-straight games and now share the Big Ten lead with Michigan State. The Badgers remain a game out. McCamey and Tisdale combined for 46 of the Illini’s 63 points.
The Badgers shot just 36% from the field for the game and just 25% in the second half, but they did jump out to an early 10-point lead. Guard Jason Bohannon (15 pts) said the problem is they couldn’t build on it.
AUDIO: Jason Bohannon says the Badgers didn’t put Illinois away :20
The Badgers entered the night 133-10 at home under Bo Ryan, including a 65-5 Big Ten mark.
It was a tight battle until the Badgers are to start fouling late. But they scored just 8-points in the final 12:57 of the game missing 17 of 20 shots during that stretch.
The Badgers were already talking after the game about the next one, Saturday at home against Indiana. Big man Keaton Nankivil said their Big Ten title hopes are not done yet.
AUDIO: Keaton Nankivil said the Badgers aren’t done in the Big Ten yet :14