By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst & Co-Host, IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular

March 14, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

Lather. Rinse. Repeat. The Illini once again got a big lead, and once again failed to close it out in another overtime loss, this time to Wisconsin in the Big Ten tournament, 91-88. The Illini led by 15 points in the second half at 60-45, but Wisconsin battled back behind a monster second half from star guards Nick Boyd and John Blackwell, who combined for 69 points as the Badgers advanced to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals where they will take on Michigan.

Here’s a look at what we saw.

These 3 Things

       1. Missed Free Throws Kill You - Illinois was 9-15 from the line and missed 2 front ends. In a game that goes to OT and is a 3 point game after OT, that is a losing proposition. One of the workers here at the UC overheard us talking post game and he said, ‘You can’t miss those free throws.’ He ain’t wrong. These are good free throw shooters, but you can feel they are going to miss a 1 and 1 many times. As a team, they have been good, but in losses it has been an issue.

9-15 against Wisconsin.
13-22 against Alabama.
14-20 against Nebraska in the first game.

Free throws win close games.

         2. ‘Nastiness’ is Missing - The other glaring issue, besides defending smaller guards, is grabbing rebounds late in the game. Michigan State, Wisconsin, UCLA…..it’s a pattern. They are a good rebounding team too, but they cannot get the key rebounds late for whatever reason. Underwood said post game that the nastiness is missing. Some would call it being soft, some might say it is the lack of bounce and athleticism, but the reason doesn’t really matter. If they want to win next weekend it has to be better.

        3. Coasting and Complacent - The Illini play well for stretches, grab big leads, and then shot selection becomes an issue and the defense goes on the fritz. Leading by 15 in each half, Illinois allowed the Badgers to make a run and let Boyd and Blackwell get going. Each player said they get complacent and don’t execute, take some bad shots, etc….but none of them appear ready to fix it. It isn’t a new problem, and something I may have mentioned last Sunday in Maryland, but now one more time where they are complacent and they will be going home.

        4. Adjusting on the Fly - Wisconsin went from wing ball screens, their bread and butter, to middle ball screens which allowed Boyd to get to his left and get downhill. It also allowed for Blackwell to get some catch and shoot actions. Illinois had a fantastic game plan, and slowed the Badgers in the first half, but they couldn’t find a way to get stops consistently late. Give the two Badgers stars credit for making some tough shots, but had Illinois been more consistent they could have survived the tough shots. Boyd got to his left and Blackwell not only got downhill but got some catch and shoot opportunities. Illinois finally went zone in the final 4 minutes, but then they struggled to grab rebounds and the inadequacies were the same.

Notable
*Keaton Wagler had 19 points and 6 assists, but he is repeatedly getting manhandled on the court. How he shoots 3 FTs, while Boyd shoots 13 and Blackwell shoots 9 is stunning.

*Both Tomislav Ivisic and Zvonimir Ivisic made a 3, but they continue to struggle shooting the ball. Tomi is now 3 for his last 22. Z is now 3 for his last 24. Yikes.

*Andrej Stojakovic is very good in isos at the elbow. He can be a weapon in the NCAA tourney at times if they will use him. He is still a guy that seems to be a square peg in a round hole on this team.

*I like the original game plan Illinois had against Wisconsin, but once guards just start going off, Illinois can’t turn off the water. This is a recurring problem that they do not seem to have a solution for, but they need to try something different.

*Does it seem like this team just doesn’t click with the Underwood coaching style? And is his coaching style just a lot different than we saw in the past?

*How does a team add their best defensive player and get worse? It’s been a month since Kylan Boswell returned, and Illinois is worse since that happened.

*Nick Boyd enjoyed a career-high 38 points, with 29 points coming in the second half and in overtime. He also had 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and was 12-of-13 from the charity stripe.

*John Blackwell had 31 points, his second 30-point outing of the Big Ten Tournament. Blackwell was a perfect 9-for-9 from the free-throw line.

*With John Blackwell and Nick Boyd both surpassing 30+ points in the win, it marked the third time in school history and first time since 1968 that 2+ Badgers have scored 30+ in a single game. Nationally, it marked the first time that the feat was achieved by two players during postseason play since at least 2004-05.

*Wisconsin overcame a 15-point deficit (65-50 with 11:00 left), marking the Badgers' 6th double-digit comeback win. That figure is tied with Cal for the most in the nation. It also marked the program's largest-ever in a Big Ten Tournament game.

*Wisconsin tallied its 5th consecutive win over an AP Top-25 opponent this season for the first time since the 1998-99 season. Greg Gard has now led Wisconsin to 19 top-10 wins since taking over in 2015, the most of any coach in program history.