March 10, 2007

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Game Nine • March 10, 2007 • United Center • Chicago, Ill.
#2 Wisconsin 53 (29-4) vs. #6 Illinois 41 (23-11)
No. 2 Wisconsin advances to play No. 1 Ohio State at 2:30 p.m. CST Sunday

Wisconsin is now 5-0 as the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament (BTT). The only other time that the Badgers have been the second seed in the tournament was in 2004, when they captured the title.

The team that leads at halftime in the BTT is now 8-1 in 2007 and 70-24 overall in the event.

With 21 points versus Illinois, Alando Tucker became Wisconsin's all-time leading scorer. His 2,166 career points eclipses Michael Finley's 2,146 points, the previous program high. Tucker cemented his spot atop the Badger list by scoring Wisconsin's first basket of the day.

Tucker has scored in double figures in each of Wisconsin's 33 games this season and has scored 20 points or more in 19 of those contests.

Wisconsin sophomore Joe Krabbenhoft tied his career high with three steals in the contest. He had set that mark at Indiana on Jan. 31, 2007.

Michael Flowers of Wisconsin scored in double figures for the 11th time this season and the first in the last six contests.

Wisconsin held Illinois to 41 points in the game, tying for the second-lowest scoring output in 99 BTT games.

Illinois' record fell to 23-11, suffering only its third loss in the last 12 games. Wisconsin's victory broke an 18 game United Center winning streak for the Illini, with eight of those coming in BTT play.

Warren Carter of Illinois scored a total of 50 points in three BTT games for the Illini this year, including 14 today. He accounted for 30.3 percent of Illinois' 165 total points.

Shaun Pruitt averaged 11.0 points and 9.0 rebounds in his three BTT contests for the Illini in 2007.

Looking ahead to tomorrow's final, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds have faced off just twice in the BTT championship game. The second seed has captured both of those games (Wisconsin in 2004 and Iowa in 2006).

The two teams have met twice in the BTT prior to the 2007 season. On March 14, 2003, No. 8 Ohio State defeated No. 1 Wisconsin, 58-50, and No. 3 Wisconsin defeated No. 6 Ohio State, 60-49, on March 11, 2005. Both games were in quarterfinal play.

Wisconsin has been in the championship game of the BTT twice, winning the 2004 tournament and falling in 2005 to Illinois. The No. 2 seed has won the championship in four of the last five years, including last season, when No. 2 Iowa defeated No. 1 Ohio State, 67-60.

The attendance for the session today was 20,471. The total through four sessions is 76,784.