The same answer echoed from locker to locker among Illinois players Friday evening at the United Center.
The Illini had taken a 15-point lead against Wisconsin midway through the second half of their Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal. And then, they said, they relaxed on defense.
Wisconsin’s John Blackwell and Nick Boyd, who had fueled a February upset of the Illini, pounced. The veteran guard duo combined for 69 points — including 50 after halftime — to help the fifth-seeded Badgers knock off the fourth-seeded Illini 91-88 in overtime.
Illinois’ tournament run ended on the same day it began. The Illini, which received a triple bye into the quarterfinals on the fourth day, head back to Champaign to await their NCAA Tournament seeding Sunday. Some bracketologists had the Illini (24-8) as a No. 2 seed heading into the week, but the one-and-done showing in the conference tournament could affect that.
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The Badgers (24-9) moved on to face top-seeded Michigan in Saturday’s first semifinal.
“All of a sudden we make a couple of balls to start the second half, and we just let up,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “You get a guy who has started 100 games and another one that started 130 games in their backcourt, they’re just going to hoop, and they’re going to play. And we just lost focus.”
Boyd and Blackwell hurt the Illini in a variety of ways.
Boyd had 38 points, including two 3-pointers and 12 free throws, and six assists. He scored the first four points of overtime and had seven points in the extra period. Blackwell finished with 31 points, including four 3-pointers and nine free throws.
They scored all 23 points on the Wisconsin run that took the Badgers from the 15-point deficit to a one-point lead with 4 minutes, 50 seconds to play in regulation.
“We did a great job of it at their place of just getting downhill, playing off two feet and kicking it out to shooters,” Blackwell said. “So I think today they were running us off the line and then we just found cracks, tried to get there, finish off two feet and play poised in there.”
Illinois freshman Keaton Wagler led Illinois with 19 points and eight assists, while fellow freshman David Mirković had 19 points, five rebounds and five assists.
With 52 seconds to play in regulation, Blackwell made a pair of free throws to tie it at 78-78. Wagler missed the potential go-ahead jumper, and Blackwell missed a 3-point attempt in the final seconds to send it to overtime.
Wisconsin jumped to a seven point-lead in overtime, but Mirković had a 3-pointer and a layup in the final eight seconds to cut it to 90-88. Wisconsin’s Braeden Carrington made 1 of 2 free throws to make it a three-point game with 5.8 seconds left. But Wagler missed a 3-point attempt as time expired.
Afterward, Underwood harped on his team’s rebounding. Wisconsin won the battle of the boards 37-36, and Underwood said allowing the Badgers 11 offensive rebounds was a killer.
“It’s really disappointing because since we started working out together since the summer that was our main emphasis,” Mirković said. “It’s disappointing because it’s showing that they out-physicaled us. We’ve got to use this feeling in the future, know how we felt now and try not to repeat it again.”
The last time the Illini lost to Wisconsin, they did it without guards Andrej Stojaković and Kylan Boswell.
Stojaković, who sat out with a sprained ankle in that first game, helped Illinois stay in it early Friday. He had 12 first-half points, including eight straight during a 23-3 Illinois run, and 17 overall. He hit a 3-pointer in the second half to even the score at 70 and then had a fast-break layup to make it 78-76.
Boswell, who missed the first game with a fractured hand, also was back, but he went to the bench with two fouls in the first minute, including a double technical foul on himself and Boyd after they trash-talked in each others’ faces.
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Boswell said he was “pissed” after having missed the first game — and Wisconsin’s celebrations after it — and that led to the talking. He had nine points in 18 minutes Friday.
“It was hard for me to get into a rhythm and actually get to guard (Boyd) the way I wanted to,” Boswell said. “They fried us all night basically. And that just made me very frustrated getting those fouls because this matchup was something I was preparing for. I watched a lot of film. I didn’t really get the opportunity to play against him a lot. Seeing him score while I was out was making me frustrated.”
Wisconsin’s reward is a date with top-seeded Michigan. The Badgers were the only Big Ten team to beat the Wolverines this season, 91-88 on Jan. 10.
In the first quarterfinal of the day Friday, Ohio State hung in it with Michigan until the very end. But Michigan held on for a 71-67 win behind 17 points, seven rebounds and two blocks from 7-foot-3 junior center Aday Mara.
Illinois was hoping for another shot at Michigan after a Feb. 27 loss. But now the Illini must regroup so they don’t have the same early exit in the NCAA Tournament.
“Next game can be the last game of our season, the last time we might see each other on this team,” Tomislav Ivišić said. “I feel like that should be enough motivation for everybody, to play more than just one game for this team. We know how good we are, how far we can go.”