Bohannon's bombs bury Illinois with 63-50 victory

MADISON, Wisc. - Illinois held shooting guard Jason Bohannon to a season-low 2 points when Wisconsin visited Assembly Hall two weeks ago.

So, somewhat naturally, the Illini adjusted their scouting report Thursday night to account more for Marcus Landry's drives and less for Bohannon's bombs.

Oops. Oops six times over.

Bohannon drilled six 3-pointers in a row in the opening 23 minutes as the Badgers rebuilt their confidence with each shot and rolled to a 63-50 victory over No. 23 Illinois at the sold-out Kohl Center.

The Badgers (13-9, 4-6) led by double digits for the final 24 minutes as they snapped a six-game losing streak, while Illinois (18-5, 6-4) fell into a four-way tie for third in the Big Ten.

Bohannon finished with a career-high-tying 20 points and set the arena record for 3-point percentage (6-for-7).

The junior had a menacing Illini hand in his general vicinity on just 1 of his 8 jump shots for the night.

"We wanted to help each other because Landry is a threat on the wing to drive," said Illinois senior guard Chester Frazier. "They kind of drove, we helped out and the rotation wasn't good tonight so he hit some open shots."

Said Bohannon: "We knew a lot of times, from watching film, that when we got the ball in the post they'd double (team). And if we'd get the proper ball movement, we'd get an open shot."

And it wasn't like Illinois' helping aided its cause any. Landry and center Jon Leuer, thanks to 3 easy tip-ins early, combined for 31 points and 12 rebounds.

Illinois sophomore forward Mike Davis, who was responsible for not boxing out on those early putbacks, came alive after halftime to produce his first double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds) since Dec. 10 against Chicago State.

Ten of his points and 9 of his rebounds came after intermission. Unfortunately for the Illini, he was the only guy clicking in the second half.

Illinois pulled within 44-34 on Demetri McCamey's 3-pointer with 15:42 to go.

But over the next 12-plus minutes, Davis was the only Illini to score as Wisconsin pushed its lead to 59-42.

Illinois' offense actually struggled more in this game than last Thursday's 36-point effort at Minnesota.

While their shooting wasn't quite as dreadful (32.8 percent), the Illini had more turnovers (12) than assists (9) for the first time all year.

"It's been like that for awhile now," said Illinois coach Bruce Weber. "I don't know what to do. If I had an answer, I would correct it."