Illini defense rises in time to knocks off Wisconsin

INDIANAPOLIS - With its back to the wall, Illinois finally cut loose and went all out.

Needing to show the NCAA Tournament committee they could best a Top 15 team at this crucial point in the season, the Illini jumped on 13th-ranked Wisconsin Friday afternoon and didn't let go until a harrowing final two minutes.

Badgers senior Trevon Hughes hit 4 3-pointers in 73 seconds to chop a 12-point deficit to 2, but Illinois held on for a 58-54 Big Ten quarterfinal victory before 16,207 at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Was that enough proof to slide the fifth-seeded Illini (19-13) off the bubble and into their 10th NCAA Tournament in the last 11 years?

"Coach (Bruce Weber) kind of told us we're not in," said junior forward Mike Davis. "No one knows if we're in. We look at it as tomorrow is another do-or-die, pretty much. Tomorrow, if we win, we're definitely in, we kind of feel like."

So, yeah, the Illini are certainly uncertain. Illinois gets another chance to prove itself against top-seeded Ohio State (25-7) at 12:40 p.m. Saturday in the tournament's first semifinal.

The Illini lost their regular-season games with the Bucks by 19 and 16 points, so that's not a good sign. Then again, nobody expected Illinois to rebound against Wisconsin after getting whipped by 15 at home just five days before.

But Weber conducted atypically rigorous practices on Monday and Wednesday and the Illini carried that effort over to Friday.

"Just the overall intensity," said junior center Mike Tisdale, who led everyone with 21 points. "Just a whole different ball club. We came out fired up. Everybody was getting in a (defensive) stance and talking."

"I told Demetri (McCamey), I told Mike Davis, we needed their best defensive effort of the year," Weber said. "For most of it, we did."

Davis held Wisconsin's Jon Leuer, who scored 20 points in 26 minutes Sunday, to 14 points on 5 of 13 shooting. McCamey held Jordan Taylor, who also scored 20 Sunday, to 8 points on 3 of 9 shooting.

"One of the big things we said was 'Play defense before he gets the ball,' " Weber said. "Because against a good player, if you let him get it in his comfort zone it's tough to stop him. I think they both did a good job of playing defense before their man got the ball, getting in a stance, fighting 'em."

Whether it was Illinois' more aggressive man-to-man or Conseco's tight rims, Wisconsin (23-8) was on pace for a historically bad shooting effort. With 16 minutes to play, Illinois owned a 34-20 lead as the Badgers made 6 of their first 39 shots.

Wisconsin improved slightly, but the Illini still held a 50-38 margin with 1:52 to go.

That's when Hughes, who missed his first 11 shots, went berserk. While the Illini hit 5 of 8 free throws, Hughes nailed 4 3-pointers - including a bank shot and a rainbow that scraped the sky - to pull Wisconsin to 56-54 with 31 seconds left.

Illinois nearly turned over the ball at halfcourt, but Jeff Jordan drew a foul and split 2 free throws in his first attempts since Valentine's Day.

Davis (10 points, 10 rebounds) added a clinching free throw with 11.7 seconds to play to give Illinois its fifth win over Top 35 teams in the current RPI.

"I'd like to say we are (in the tournament), but we don't make the decisions," said junior forward Bill Cole. "We've got a pretty good resume, but just to make it 100 percent we've got to win tomorrow."

Illinois (19-13) vs. Ohio State (25-7)

When: 12:40 p.m. at Conseco Fieldhouse

TV: Channel 2

Radio: WIND 560-AM

Skinny: The top-seeded Buckeyes squeezed past Michigan on Friday thanks to Evan Turner's 35-foot buzzer-beater, but Ohio State hasn't needed any such heroics against the Illini this year. The Bucks handed Illinois its worst home loss in 34 years on Feb. 14 (72-53), then turned a 4-point game into a 73-57 home triumph on March 2. Illinois' problem is the tough matchups. Six-foot-9 junior power forward Mike Davis has to chase around 6-5 David Lighty while Turner (vs. D.J. Richardson) and Jon Diebler (vs. Demetri McCamey) also own sizable advantages. On the plus side for the Illini, they might have fresher legs. Four OSU starters played 40 minutes Friday while only McCamey played 40 for the Illini.

- Lindsey Willhite