Greg Gard made a ballsy decision late in Monday’s night Wisconsin-Illinois game. He decided to sit Ethan Happ. Yes, the potential Big Ten Player of the Year took a seat on the bench not because of an injury or foul trouble, rather, he played so poorly that Gard made the choice to ride different guys to the finish line. It paid off. Wisconsin survives a tough Illinois team winning 64-58. Even though the Illini are sub .500, this was one of the best wins of the year for Wisconsin in the way they did without their star player.

Player of the Game: Brad Davison – There have been moments this year where I think ‘Brad Davison will be more than just his tough defense in the coming years.’ He tends to shoot a lot from time to time, which is not talked about a lot when focusing in on the Badgers guard. He was the difference maker last night carrying Wisconsin’s offense down the stretch. He finished the game with 18 points and seven rebounds. Davison is one of the few Badgers that can be clutch from the free throw line and did it last night too.

Silver Star: Khalil Iverson – Where did this come from? Khalil Iverson became the forgotten man this season. When Wisconsin tried to figure out their offense and struggles during their losing streak, Iverson became the odd man out. He started seeing a dip in minutes and did not get the same amount of run as some of the other players. Yesterday was the first time he played over 30 minutes since early January against Purdue. 16 points is a season-high for him. This speaks to something about Iverson about always being on and ready for the moment.

Thing I liked: Winning without Happ – I cannot stress enough the confidence boost this can have with a team. Sure, you want Happ to be on his A-game, but at the same time, these young players now have the confidence that they don’t need him to be the rock in every game. This gives players like Davison, Iverson and Nate Reuvers a chance to feel confident in the final four minutes of a tight game.

Thing I didn’t like: Happ’s struggles – Even though I can praise Gard and talk about how importance it was to learn how to win without Happ, they still need him to be one of the best players in the Big Ten in order to be successful. Hopefully, this is just a bad night. I am willing to think that happened with the star player of the team. Everyone has off nights.

Next up: Wisconsin heads for a Saturday evening matchup with Northwestern. The Wildcats are not very good. They’ve struggled in the past few weeks losing their last six games. They play Ohio State on Wednesday on the road before taking on the Badgers. Always scary to play a team who hasn’t won in some time.

Charlie.