Kasparas Jakucionis scores 24 points and Tre White has 23 as Illinois beats No. 20 Wisconsin 86-80

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Kasparas Jakucionis scored a career-high 24 points, Tre White had 23 points and eight rebounds and Kylan Boswell added 19 points and six assists to lead Illinois to an 86-80 win over No. 20 Wisconsin on Tuesday night.

It was the fourth straight game in which Jakucionis scored 20 or more points for the Illini (7-2, 1-1 Big Ten), who beat Wisconsin for the ninth consecutive time.

Nolan Winter led the Badgers (8-3, 0-2) with 15 points and seven rebounds, John Tonje had 14 points, Max Klesmit scored 13 and John Blackwell had 10. Wisconsin lost its third straight game after opening the season with eight consecutive victories.

Illinois led 39-35 at halftime. The Illini fell behind 47-46 with 16:32 left in the second half before regaining the lead on a 3-pointer by Boswell. They never trailed again.

It was the 150th win in Brad Underwood’s eighth year as the Illinois coach. He’s now 150-90.

Kasparas Jakucionis scores 24 points and Tre White has 23 as Illinois beats No. 20 Wisconsin 86-80 | iNFOnews.ca — Illinois fans hold mock newspapers with the headline Curdled Dreams in Champaign as the Wisconsin basketball team is introduced at the beginning of an NCAA college basketball game between Illinois and Wisconsin on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Champaign, Ill. (AP Photo/Craig Pessman)

Takeaways

Illinois: The Illini aren’t afraid to shoot 3’s, but that didn’t affect Wisconsin. Illinois went 10 for 33 from long range.

Wisconsin: The Badgers have two of the top free throw shooters in the Big Ten in Klesmit and Tonje. But, neither got to the line in the first half and Klesmit (3 of 6) and Tonje (2 of 2) didn’t shoot many free throws in the second half.

Key moment

Jakucionis’ four-point play with 6:08 left put Illinois up 70-60. The Badgers never got closer than four points after that.

Key stat

Underwood challenged his team following its overtime loss to Northwestern last week to do a better job on the offensive boards. The Illini responded, grabbing 15 offensive rebounds while outrebounding the Badgers 40-29. Tomislav Ivisic had a game-high 11 rebounds for Illinois.

Up next

Illinois will host No. 1 Tennessee on Saturday. Butler is at Wisconsin on Saturday.