The Wisconsin Badgers played their second overtime game in three days and found themselves on the other side of the result, beating the No. 8 Illinois Fighting Illini 92-90. It’s a huge victory for the Badgers, who secured their second Quad 1 victory on the season and earned their second top-10 win on the road.
Illinois
3 quick takeaways from Wisconsin’s overtime thriller win over Illinois: What A Game
These types of games have become a theme under Greg Gard, as the Badgers got their second marquee win of the season following their 91-88 win over Michigan back in January. With the win, the Badgers improved to 17-7 on the season and 9-4 in conference play. They now have wins over the top two teams in the Big Ten.
Here are three quick takeaways from the Badgers 92-90 win over Illinois on Tuesday evening.
To win this game, Wisconsin was going to have to hit threes at near or above a 40 percent rate. That’s just the way they needed to do things, given how good Illinois’s interior presence was and the way the Badgers play basketball.
Well, the Badgers hit a whopping 16 threes and shot 44.4 percent from deep and still only won by two. That tells you the difficulty of the matchup, but also the impressiveness and resolve Wisconsin had from deep. The Badgers started this game strong, which is exactly what they needed, hitting four straight three-pointers to take an early 18-10 lead.
They hit seven threes in the first half, scoring at a 35 percent clip from deep. Then, they started the second half shooting well and then found their stroke after the long drought, hitting eight more threes in the second half. The Badgers have won big games this year when they’ve hit threes, and Tuesday’s win was one of those.
The Badgers don’t win this game without John Blackwell’s mentality. Wisconsin had a huge scoring drought of 5:13 in the second half and scored only one point over a 7:07 stretch where Illinois went on a 14-1 run to take a nine-point lead.
If the Badgers were going to find their way back, it was going to have to be one of their star players taking over. And that’s what John Blackwell did. Yes, he shot 9 of 22 from the field and missed some shots at the rim, but it was the mentality that really started things for the Badgers.
Wisconsin was really struggling to get shots at the rim against Illinois’s rim protectors, and their attacking efforts weren’t there as much during the cold stretch. But Blackwell was relentless and kept looking to find his way to the rim, either going up with the shot or kicking out for teammates. And like that, the comeback started.
Blackwell started things with a pair of threes before the cold stretch, but then looked to attack and kick, with Nick Boyd and Austin Rapp hitting a number of threes off the catch. With the Badgers down seven with under seven minutes to go, Blackwell’s attacking finally started to pay off, as he got a pair of layups. Then, he got a defensive steal, which parlayed into an assist for an Austin Rapp three to tie the game with 2:19.
Then, in arguably the most important possession of regulation for Wisconsin with under a minute left, Blackwell attacked hard again and drew two, kicking out for a Rapp three to give Wisconsin an 81-80 lead. Then, in overtime, Blackwell hit another three and the final free throws to finish with 24 points and four assists.
But it wasn’t just those moments. Blackwell’s mentality started to resonate with the team, which had a stellar second half defensively forcing turnovers. Additionally, Nick Boyd, who really struggled to start the game, started to see his layups go down, which were crucial for the Badgers.
The Badgers don’t pull this incredible win off without Blackwell.
This Badgers team just doesn’t give up.
Wisconsin started this one strong, which was crucial, as they were hitting their shots and staying out ahead of the Illini. They did go through some lulls offensively as Illinois started to get ahead, having a two and four-minute scoreless stretch in the period, but still went into halftime down only six.
The Badgers also responded really well out of the gate in the second half, which was just as crucial as their opening start. They started the period with an 8-0 run, with good defense turning into a pair of triples on the other side, and led 51-49 after the first two and a half minutes.
From there, though, things got rough as Wisconsin scored just one point over the next seven minutes, which allowed Illinois to flip the script and take an 11-point lead with 11:40 left in the game. But this Badgers team has shown several times this season that they can engineer a double-digit second-half comeback.
In six of their last nine games, they’ve done so, winning five of those, with the exception being Saturday’s overtime loss to Indiana. That was the case again on Tuesday, as the Badgers found their form again and slowly started to chip away at the lead against a team that you don’t want to be trailing by double digits against.
Still, after some back-and-forth action, the Badgers trailed by 10 with seven minutes left, but found success as John Blackwell started to take over, while Austin Rapp started hitting some pick-and-pop threes. But it was the defensive end where Wisconsin really impressed.
Illinois was still shooting the ball at a high rate, but Wisconsin forced eight turnovers in the second half, which allowed them to mount the comeback and take a lead late in regulation before the game went to overtime. Then, in the final five minutes, the Badgers found a way to steal the game by getting ahead early once again.
Playing deep minutes with two overtime games in three days, the Badgers showed great resilience and just found a way once again.
MT. VERNON, Ill. – A tornado caught on video tore through southern Illinois on Sunday, killing at least two people, hurting several others and destroying homes.
What we know:
The tornado touched down shortly after 5 p.m. in northeastern Jefferson County and moved northeast, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
Soon after, 911 dispatchers began getting calls about damaged homes, fallen trees, downed power lines and missing people.
Several police, fire and ambulance agencies responded to help search for people and clear damaged areas.
By 9 p.m., officials said three homes had been completely destroyed, and many other buildings were damaged.
Two people died in separate homes that were destroyed by the storm. Both were single-wide mobile homes.
Five people were taken to local hospitals with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.
What we don’t know:
Officials have not released the names of the two people who died.
The National Weather Service has not yet said how strong the tornado was or how far it traveled.
Local perspective:
Fallen trees blocked at least three roads across the area.
Power lines were knocked down in multiple places, but officials said power had been restored to most customers by Sunday night.
Authorities asked people to stay away from northeastern Jefferson County unless they had an emergency reason to be there.
The backstory:
The storm came less than two weeks after another round of severe weather produced more than 20 tornadoes across parts of Illinois and northwest Indiana on June 11.
What they’re saying:
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office thanked first responders and volunteers who helped with search and rescue efforts.
“We send our heartfelt condolences to the families of those lost in this tragic event,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
The Source: The information in this story came from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
ST. LOUIS – Sunday marked Father’s Day and the Summer Solstice; it’s been a tornado day, too.
Multiple storms across the region have had rotation that produced tornado touchdowns. As we wait for a cold front to pass through, more strong storms could be working through the region. Eventually, some dry time and some calm are in the works in for a few days this week. Rain and thunder are possible late week.
Meanwhile, a tornado watch was issued for most Illinois counties in the FOX 2 viewing area and nearly all of southern Illinois into Indiana until 9 p.m. on Sunday.
Tornado warnings were issued in Fayette and Marion counties until 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., respectively.
Just after 5 p.m., new tornado warnings were issued for Madison, St. Clair, and Clinton counties in the Metro East. An area of rotation was spotted on the FOX 2 Power Doppler just south of Collinsville around 5:10 p.m.
At least two tornadoes were spotted in Marion County, Illinois.
Beginning at 3 p.m., tornado warnings were issued for Madison, Bond, and Fayette counties in Illinois. Those warnings are expected to end by 4:45 p.m. A tornado warning was issued for Jefferson County, Illinois, until 5:30 p.m.
On the Missouri side of the Mississippi River, a severe thunderstorm watch was issued for Crawford, Dent, Iron, Jefferson, Madison, Phelps, Reynolds, St. Francois, and Washington counties until 1 a.m. Monday.
A flood advisory for St. Louis City, St. Charles and St. Louis counties ended at 5 p.m. Sunday.
Illinois
Lake County detectives rescue girl from man they say drove to Illinois from Georgia to meet her
Detectives from Lake County, Illinois, Sheriff’s office rescued a girl under 14 from a grown man who had traveled from Georgia to meet her this weekend, authorities said Sunday.
At 4:40 a.m. Saturday, Lake County sheriff’s deputies were called to unincorporated Gurnee for a report of a missing girl under the age of 14. Deputies learned the girl had never run away before, and it was especially concerning that she did so in the middle of the night, authorities said.
Sheriff’s detectives learned the girl’s cellphone was not functioning, and she could not be found through any of her electronic devices. Detectives also found that a 24-year-old man from Norcross, Georgia, named Jordy Alexis Fuerte Perez had been communicating with her, authorities said.
Detectives learned that Fuerte Perez had made plans to drive to Illinois from Georgia and pick up the girl, and evidence indicates he told the girl he wanted a “romantic relationship” with her, authorities said.
Detectives homed in on a vehicle that Fuerte Perez may have been driving, and found the vehicle at the Independence Grove Forest Preserve near Libertyville, authorities said. Both Fuerte Perez and the girl were in the car in a parking lot when detectives arrived at 6 p.m. Saturday, authorities said.
The girl did not appear to be injured, but was taken to the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center for specialized advocacy and attention, authorities said.
Fuerte Perez was charged with two counts of solicitation of child pornography, and one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance, namely cocaine. More charges ar likely, authorities said.
“This type of case is a parent’s worst nightmare. Our Criminal Investigations Division took this case seriously and worked tirelessly from the moment the girl was reported missing until she was safely located,” Lake County Sherif John Idleburg said in a news release. “While there will undoubtedly be a long road to recovery and healing, I am grateful the victim was found safe and is physically okay. I am proud of everyone who played a role in rescuing this young girl and bringing the offender to the first steps of justice.”
Fuerte Perez was due in court on Sunday morning. The Lake County State’s Attorney’s office is asking to have him held while awaiting trial.
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