Illini Finish with Loss at Wisconsin, Face Iowa in Big Ten Tourney

The Illini men's basketball team closed out the regular season with another loss, falling 70 to 56 at Wisconsin Sunday.

Coach Bruce Weber said the game was finished in the first five minutes. He lamented the toll this season has taken on everyone.

"We've been through a really tough stretch in our season, and in our lives to be honest," Weber said after the game. "But you can't do anything except go play basketball - play with a passion if you love the game. And that's the disappointing thing to me. We played very tenative to start the game, and we spotted them 14-2, and that pretty much was the game."

Brandon Paul led all scorers with 22 points. Joseph Bertrand added 10 points, and Meyers Leonard grabbed 12 rebounds.

Wisconsin got 16 points each from Josh Gasser and Jordan Taylor.

Wisconsin finishes 12 and 6 in the Big Ten, Illinois 6 and 12.

The Illini are the 9 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. They play 8th-seeded Iowa Thursday morning in Indianapolis. The winner gets top seed Michigan State on Friday.