March 13, 2005
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2005 BIG TEN
MEN'S BASKETBALL
TOURNAMENT
Game Ten • March 13, 2005 • United Center • Chicago, Ill.
#1 Illinois (32-1) 54, #3 Wisconsin 43 (22-8)
Championship game
GAME NOTES
Illinois captured its second Big Ten Tournament title, matching Michigan State's record (1999 and 2000). The Fighting Illini also won the BTT crown in 2003 (over Ohio State, 72-59). Illinois' victory broke Wisconsin's six-game BTT winning streak.
The Illini improved their season record to 32-1, matching the second-best victory total in Big Ten Conference history (Indiana won the NCAA title with a 32-0 record in 1975-76, and Michigan State was the national champ in 1999-2000 at 32-7). An Illini victory over Fairleigh Dickinson next Thursday in the NCAA tournament would match the all-time Big Ten record of 33 wins posted by MSU in 1998-99 (33-5 in 1998-99). Of the Big Ten teams that have won 30 games or more, Illinois' .970 winning percentage (32-1) ranks second only to the undefeated Hoosiers of 1975-76. In the history of NCAA Division 1 men's basketball, Illinois becomes the 57th team to post 32 or more victories in a single season. Among the previous 56 teams, 19 squads went on to capture the NCAA title.
In BTT play, the Illini are now 16-6, including three consecutive victories and wins in eight of the last nine BTT games.
The record of the BTT's No. 1 seed is now 9-6. Two No. 1 seeds have gone on to win the BTT championship. Michigan State 1998-99 squad was the other No. 1 seeded team that eventually won the tournament title. The No. 3 seed stands at 6-8 in BTT action
Illinois has an all-time record of 27-6 at the United Center, including 14 consecutive victories. Wisconsin's record at the UC is 6-6.
Illinois is 3-0 vs. Wisconsin this season, marking only the second time in history that it has won three games in a single season against the Badgers (1997-98 was the other time). The Illini lead their all-time series with UW, 105-68.
Illinois is now 30-1 in 2004-05 when leading its opponent at the intermission. Wisconsin's record fell to 1-6 when trailing at halftime.
In Wisconsin's 16 BTT games, it has averaged just 10.5 turnovers per contest, including six games of 10 turnovers or less. Wisconsin combined for just 22 turnovers (7.3 ppg) in three BTT games this year.
The team that has recorded the most steals improved its record to 8-0 in BTT games this year (Illinois three steals, Wisconsin two steals) and has won 22 of the last 25 BTT contests.
In Zach Morley's previous eight overall games, he was 29-52 (.558) from the field. Today, Illinois held him to just two of eight from the field. Following a 23-point effort vs. Ohio State and a 17-point performance vs. Iowa, Morley was held to just five points by the Illini.
Today's session five attendance was 22,157, boosting the 2005 BTT total attendance to 109,250. Only the 109,769 fans who attended the 2001 BTT surpassed this year's total.
Illinois held Wisconsin to just 25.9% shooting from the field (24.0% in the first half and 27.6% in the second half). It was the Badgers' worst effort this year (32.8% at Minnesota was the previous low) and UW's worst over at least the last two seasons. Wisconsin's 43-point total vs. Illinois was its lowest since a 41-point effort vs. Michigan State in the 2000 NCAA semifinals.
Illinois held its three BTT opponents to a cumulative .325 field goal percentage (Northwestern was 18 of 52, Minnesota was 21 of 57, and Wisconsin was 14 of 54) and just 50 points per game (NU had 51 points, Minnesota scored 56 points, and Wisconsin had 43 points).
No team in the 2005 BTT shot 50 percent or better from the field. Illinois has the best shooting percentage for a single game, converting 48.1 percent (25-52) of its attempts vs. Northwestern in game four. BTT teams played tenacious defense during the entire tournament, shooting a cumulative 39.5 percent (426-1079) through 10 games.
The ten BTT teams that lost made only 37.3 percent (199-534) of their field goal attempts. The average score in this year's BTT was 64.8 points to 55.6 points.
Luther Head had two three-point field goals vs. Wisconsin, raising his season total to 93. That's just four shy of breaking Cory Bradford's record of 96 three-pointers in 1999-2000. Head's 93 single-season three pointers rank 10th among all Big Ten players.
Deron Williams dished out three assists vs. Wisconsin, raising his season total to 214. That ranks eighth on the Big Ten's all-games' list. Next in line in sixth place are MSU's Eric Snow (217 in 1994-95) and Mateen Cleaves (217 in 1997-98), and Earvin Magic Johnson in fifth place (222 in 1977-78). The all-time single-season record for individual assists is 274 by Cleaves (1998-99).
Bruce Weber's two-season coaching record at Illinois is 58-8 (.879). Among Big Ten coaches, Weber has the best coaching record vs. Wisconsin's Bo Ryan (4-2).
Big Ten Tournament Championship Game Records:
- Illinois blocked six shots (the previous record was four by three different teams)
- Illinois held Wisconsin to a Championship game low 43 points
- Illinois held Wisconsin to .259 field goal percentage
- Wisconsin hit all eight of its free throws (1.000)
