Feb. 20, 2008

Box Score

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - Trevon Hughes scored 18 points and Marcus Landry added 17 to help No. 11 Wisconsin beat Illinois 71-57 on Wednesday night and move into a first-place tie in the Big Ten.

The Badgers (22-4, 12-2) joined Purdue on top of the conference. The Boilermakers (21-6, 12-2) were off after losing to Indiana Tuesday.

"The Big Ten, this is what it's all about," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. "Yeah, we would like a piece of the conference championship."

Illinois' loss guarantees the Illini (11-16, 3-11) their first losing season since 1999.

The Illini relied on senior center Shaun Pruitt, who had 16 points, and freshman guard Demetri McCamey - who scored 18, all in the second half and off the bench - for their offense.

Wisconsin led 34-35 at halftime, brushing aside an early Illinois push gave the Illini an 8-4 lead with 13:10 left in the half.

The Badgers' Jason Bohannon, Michael Flowers and Hughes all hit 3-pointers over the next 7 minutes. By the time Bohannon hit the last of them from the baseline at 6:49, the Badgers had capped a 19-7 run and had a 23-15 lead.

"(Bohannon) stared them down and knocked them down," Ryan said.

After that, Wisconsin never led by less than six, and with just over 7 minutes left in the game led by 16.

The Badgers were 23-for-50 from the field Wednesday, including 7-for-14 from behind teh arc.

What the Badgers didn't take from the Illini with strong shooting, Illinois gave away by turning the ball over 20 times.

Wisconsin also shut down Pruitt in the second half. The 6-foot-10 center scored just 2 points after halftime.

Pruitt was hurt in part by the loss of forward Brian Randle, a 6-8 senior, who left the game with a sprained shoulder early in the first half and didn't return.