INDIANAPOLIS -- After an 18-game Big Ten Conference season, the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team found itself alone atop the league standings.

And the eighth-ranked Badgers defended that undisputed status in style Sunday at Conseco Fieldhouse, capping the Big Ten tournament with a 61-48 victory over Illinois in the event 's title game.

Big Ten champions. Again.

"At the beginning of the season, you have two goals," UW senior center Brian Butch said. "To win the regular season championship and then win the (Big Ten) tournament. We did that. ... We're all very proud of it."

Afterward, the Badgers were proud to model another batch of championship T-shirts and hats, to take part in another trophy presentation and to take another turn cutting down a net. It marked the first time UW has won the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles in the same year, and the sixth time it has happened since the Big Ten tournament started in 1998.

"To be able to accomplish both those feats in the same year is really special," sophomore guard Jason Bohannon said.

After leaving the court, the Badgers adjourned to a hospitality room inside the arena to watch the NCAA tournament selection show, where they learned they are the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Regional with a first-round game against Cal State-Fullerton scheduled for Thursday in Omaha, Neb.

"To win this tournament -- we've watched that (NCAA tournament) selection show a few times before in just our travel gear," senior center Greg Stiemsma said. "But it's nice to go out there in champion T-shirts with the hats on and stuff. A little different mood up there this year."

What stayed the same, though, was the way UW (29-4) attained its latest victory.

As usual, it started with defense.

Illinois (16-19) shot 40.4 percent from the field overall (34.6 percent in the first half), and finished below UW's nation-leading defensive standard of 53.9 points per game. The Badgers also held Illinois freshman guard Demetri McCamey -- who averaged 15.0 points over his first three Big Ten tournament games -- to five points on 2-for-10 shooting.

"If you're going to have a chance, you have to hold (Wisconsin) to 50, 52 (points) because you're not going to get many more than that," Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. "If we were going to win, we had to be pretty efficient (offensively), and we weren't."

The Badgers' offense was again evenly dispersed.

UW, which shot 49 percent from the field for the game, had six players score seven points or more, headed by 12 from senior center Brian Butch and 10 from junior forward Marcus Landry, who was named the Big Ten tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

And the Badgers were at their best on the offensive end of the court during the second half.

UW shot 54.2 percent from the field over the final 20 minutes, and turned a 29-22 halftime lead into a 46-30 advantage following a 3-pointer by Bohannon with 11:06 to play.

Bohannon's 3-pointer was one of nine for UW. The Badgers, who went to the free throw line just twice, finished 9-for-18 from beyond the arc, spearheaded by a 3-for-5 performance by senior guard Michael Flowers.

"It was really key for us being able to hit that many shots from the outside," Bohannon said. "That's 27 points right there from the perimeter. A lot of it was from big guys being able to kick it out from the post because (Illinois) was (double teaming) on the back side. We had some great ball movement and got some open shots."

From there, UW put the finishing touches on another victory.

"After every game I feel like I'm saying it. That was Wisconsin basketball out there today," UW junior swingman Joe Krabbenhoft said. "We went out there, we took care of business on the defensive end, shut down one of the hottest players in the country right now, Demetri McCamey. ... And then offensively, it took us maybe a half, but things really started clicking.

"It was just complete Wisconsin basketball again. Another day and another win."

And, for these Badgers, another championship.