Illinois' dream turns to nightmare

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By Mark Tupper | Thursday, March 20, 2008 |

Illinois watches their 2008 NCAA season come to and end during Sunday's Big Ten Championship game versus Wisconsin at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, In., Mar. 16, 2008. Wisconsin won the game 61-48. (The Associated Press) Buy this Photo

INDIANAPOLIS — Brian Randle’s eyes looked like two puddles of tomato sauce.

The hurt of falling one game short of an improbable dream had obviously hit him and now, after his Illini team fell to top-seeded Wisconsin 61-48 in the championship game of the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament on Sunday, it was time to admit the end of his college career had arrived.

“It’s tough because this is not the way I wanted to go out,” said Randle, one of two senior starters.

No victory Sunday meant no NCAA Tournament bid for an Illini program that had been in college basketball’s Big Dance every season since 1999.

“That’s hard to take because we’ve had so much success in the past,” said Shaun Pruitt, the other senior starter.

Illinois didn’t have much of a chance against a Wisconsin team that owns the Big Ten regular-season championship and the conference tournament title. Shortly after the game, the Badgers were rewarded with a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament’s Midwest Regional.

The difference between a consistent, proven commodity like Wisconsin (29-4) and a hit-and-miss team like Illinois (16-19) was on full display.

The Badgers exposed many of Illinois’ warts, especially its season-long difficulty shooting. Illinois shot 40.4 percent for the game but was 3-for-13 from 3-point range and 3-for-7 from the free-throw line.

Wisconsin, on the other hand, shot 49 percent and made nine of 18 3-pointers.

Randle quickly rejected the notion that the fatigue of playing four games in four days finally caught up with the Illini.

“I really don’t think it was a factor,” Randle said. “We came up against a great team today and they made a bunch of shots. I don’t know that it was fatigue; they just had a great day.

“They play solid and methodical, nothing flashy to wow you. They just wear you down and stay consistent. We got a little too hurried at times. I know personally I did.”

Illinois stayed close early and trailed by two points at 22-20 on Randle’s tip-in with 4:05 to go in the first half. But the Badgers finished the half on a 7-2 run, then opened the second half on a 10-4 burst to extend their lead to 39-26.

The second-half run came as a result of 3-pointers by Marcus Landry, who was named most outstanding player of the tournament, and Michael Flowers sandwiched around a pair of close-range baskets by Joe Krabbenhoft.

Wisconsin used its scoring balance to win for the 23rd time in the past 25 games. Brian Butch scored 12 points, Landry added 10 and four other players scored between seven and nine points.

Pruitt led the Illini with 13 points and eight rebounds and Calvin Brock added 10 points.

Illini coach Bruce Weber said he was grateful for a late-season charge and hoped Wisconsin would make noise in the NCAA Tournament.

“I feel good about our kids,” Weber said. “I wish it would have been a more successful season but they continued to battle and didn’t quit, even today. It’s tough to go through four games, but they gave it their all.

“You’ve got to give Wisconsin a lot of credit. They remind me a little of our 2004-05 team. It’s a good team, so balanced, with a lot of weapons. They understand each other and play off each other.

“To win the Big Ten (regular-season championship) and the tournament is pretty impressive. I just wish them the best.

“The way we performed at the end of the season is the way we expect to perform. Our fans stuck with us all year, through a lot of tough times. There was a lot of orange here today and they didn’t have to be here after the year we’ve had.

“Hopefully we can take this momentum from now into next season and have a successful year.”

Although Illinois did not reach the NCAA Tournament, there are now two other post-season tournaments available for teams.

But Illinois was not expected to make the NIT field and university officials indicated Sunday night that they were not interested in the new College Basketball Invitational event that might announce its field today.

Pruitt and Demetri McCamey were named to the Big Ten all-tournament team along with MVP Landry, Wisconsin’s Michael Flowers and Michigan State’s Drew Neitzel.

Mark Tupper is the executive sports editor of the Decatur Herald & Review and can be reached at mtupper@herald-review.com or at (217) 421-7983.