MADISON, Wis. – When James Augustine and Dee Brown took their first Illini road trip to Madison, it was for a contest that would decide the Big Ten championship. The Illini were 20-5 overall and 10-4 in the conference, and needed a victory at the Kohl Center to take home the banner.

When the final buzzer sounded, the scoreboard read 60-59 in the home team’s favor, and the Illini left defeated and in second place.

“I really didn’t know how to feel to lose as a freshman,” Augustine said. “You come in to college basketball, you’re playing for the Big Ten championship and you lose. You really don’t know what to feel. Now I’m a senior and I’ve gotten to that point where you look back on it and realize we were one game away from having another ring.”

The following season, Illinois was still struggling to adjust to a new coaching staff when they arrived in Madison and were crushed by a much more solid Wisconsin team.

Which may be why the Illini say the win Tuesday night is bigger than any of their three previous wins against the Badgers – including the 75-65 thriller that ended the Kohl Center’s home winning streak.

“It’s huge. It’s so tough to beat them here,” Brown said. “They’re so disciplined in their system, they’re so well coached. It’s a great win for us.”

Even that first loss doesn’t seem so painful now, Augustine said, as he looks at it as a building block to three more years of greater success.”

“You look back on it after three or four years, see the things we’ve accomplished, and it’s something we look back upon and say, ‘Hey, that’s what made us good.'”

Closing in

The Illini are one game away from an eight-day break as they take their second bye week of the season. It will be a well-needed rest for the players, who head coach Bruce Weber says are starting to wear down.

“I can see they’re wilting a little bit, physically and mentally,” Weber said. “That’s why I put that carrot in front of them. I said, ‘Don’t go on break early.'”

Webster at Wisconsin

Illinois assistant coach Tracy Webster once wore red, playing for the Badgers from 1992 until 1994. Webster was on the same squad as current Wisconsin assistant Howard Moore, and still holds the record for cases assists. He also holds second in career steals.

Quote of the Game

“That’s what you want to hear on the road: silence. You see the people starting to walk up the stairs, and now you feel good.”

– Illinois head coach Bruce Weber on his team taking control of Tuesday’s game.