Wisconsin Badgers had a chance to win five straight games. After the struggles at the beginning of the year, this is a welcomed sight. They led for the majority of this basketball game. But they never put Illinois away. Badgers had a chance to with their lead up to seven with 4:50 left to go in the game. Wisconsin did not. Instead, they went ice cold from the field and the Fighting Illini crept back into this game. Illinois found a way to get hot late and beat Wisconsin on the road scoring a major resume win for Brad Underwood and company. Considering Wisconsin’s schedule in the coming weeks, this was a game not to lose.

Player of the Game: Kobe King – If you want a bright spot from this game, it is Kobe King. He is becoming a stud before our very eyes. King had another great conference game for Wisconsin. He scored 21 points with an offensive efficiency rating of 157. The Badgers sophomore is averaging 19 points per game in conference play. D’Mitirk Trice should have found him an opportunity at the last shot.

Honorable Mention: Micah Potter – With all of the trees that Illinois has on their roster, Micah Potter had himself the first strong game of his Badgers career. Potter finished with 13 points in 15 minutes. He did most of that damage at the free throw. That’s important for two reasons – One, he is the first Badgers’ big man in awhile that is good at free throws. Two, he got the Illini bigs into foul trouble.

One Thing To Be Sad About – Wisconsin’s schedule gets really, I mean, really hard: This loss becomes so much more important because of the next three games for Wisconsin. They play at Penn State on Saturday, then home to play top-ranked Maryland and back on the road to play Michigan State. That’s very difficult. Badgers might be able to squeeze out a victory against Maryland, but that is the best-case scenario.

Next up – As mentioned, Wisconsin heads to Penn State to play the Nittany Lions. This is not your older brother’s Penn State basketball team. They are much improved from years past. To make things worse for Wisconsin, they’re in a must-win situation on Saturday. Penn State lost to Iowa and Rutgers in the last week.

Charlie.