Jim Valvano called it survive and advance in 1983 when his North Carolina State team won the national championship.
After Wisconsin hung on to eliminate Washington on Thursday in the third round of the Big Ten Conference tournament, Badgers coach Greg Gard referred to it as “just find a way to get to the next one.”
That next one is Friday in Chicago, where fifth-seeded Wisconsin meets fourth-seeded Illinois in the second of four quarterfinal matchups.
“Obviously, we’ve played Illinois,” Gard said. “We know they’re a terrific team. So the assistants have already worked ahead, knowing that if we took care of business today, we’d be playing Illinois tomorrow.”
That almost didn’t happen. The Badgers (23-9) nearly squandered an 18-point lead and needed a defensive stop to avoid an overtime period. The Huskies’ Zoom Diallo missed a 3-pointer as time expired to seal Wisconsin’s 85-82 verdict.
Now the Badgers see the Fighting Illini (24-7) for the second time. The first time saw Wisconsin rally for a 92-90 overtime win on Feb. 10 in Champaign as Nick Boyd scored 25 points and John Blackwell added 24.
That duo was also the primary reason the Badgers are still around for this rematch. Blackwell scorched Washington for 34 points and 10 rebounds, while Boyd added 23 points and nine assists.
Boyd is used to coming up big in critical games. He helped Florida Atlantic reach the Final Four as a No. 8 seed in 2022-23 and will play in his fourth straight NCAA Tournament next week, barring injury.
“Together and confidence,” Boyd said when asked what he can instill in his teammates for March. “My old team, we had a certain confidence and swagger about us. If we compete, March will be special for us.”
Many think the month could be special for Illinois, which has all the talent and depth a team needs to win six straight games and cut down the nets. But the Illini haven’t always defended at a championship level.
While they’re coming off a 78-72 win Sunday in their regular-season finale at Maryland, they finished February with four losses in six games. They allowed at least 84 points in every defeat, including 95 at UCLA in overtime.
Illinois coach Brad Underwood has a specific goal for his team that doesn’t involve stats.
“We’ve got to have a carefree mindset and know that we’re a good basketball team but we want to be the toughest, hardest-playing team out there every night,” he said. “If we do that, we give ourselves a chance.”
Freshman guard Keaton Wagler leads five players in double figures at 17.9 ppg and also dished out a team-high 4.3 assists. Wagler was magnificent in the loss to Wisconsin, going off for a game-high 34 points and adding seven helpers.
The Illini should have Kylan Boswell in the lineup after he missed the February matchup. He’s their second-leading scorer at 13.3 ppg, while Andrej Stojakovic also adds 13.3.
Rebounding could be a big factor. Illinois is 10th in Division I at 40.8 per game, while the Badgers grab 35.9. Wisconsin might be without leading rebounder Nolan Winter (ankle) for a third straight game.
–Field Level Media
