Illini Badger No. 20 Wisconsin, 86-80

By Jeff Mayfield

[December 11, 2024]  The State Farm Center was rockin’ Tuesday night as the Illinois Fighting Illini rocked and rolled to an 86-80 win in our Big Ten home opener before a sold out arena. The victory gave Coach Brad Underwood his 150th W, and his next win will tie him for 4th place on the Illini all-time wins list! Illinois only led 39-35 at halftime but did lead for most of the game. They upset No. 20 Wisconsin to even their league record at 1-1 and take their overall record to 7-2. The Illini out-rebounded Wisky 40-29 and shot an incredible 88% on 22-of-25 free throws. Illinois has now beaten Bucky Badger nine times in a row which is the second longest winning streak over Wisconsin in Illini hoops history! The three stars of the night are:

#1 Tre White

Tre must have really wanted to send a message to the Illini coaches. I say that because Illinois started so slowly, but not Tre! He was fired up from the opening tip. He was out-hustling virtually everyone on the floor. He was menacing on defense. But he had a great overall game. He ended the night with 23 points that included a whooping 9-of-10 from the free throw line. He also manned the boards with 8 big rebounds!

#2 Kasparas Jakucionis

Kasparas had one of his best games as an Illini at a perfect time and helped nail the coffin shut on ol’ Bucky. He finished with a career-high 24 points to lead all scorers including 4 huge 3-pointers. He was also perfect from the free throw line and contributed 6 big rebounds to go along with 5 assists. When you see how effortless some of his offensive moves are, and how he creates space to get off his shots, you begin to understand why NBA pro scouts are so enamored with him. I am too! His performance was stellar last night!

He also joins Trae Young (Jan. 3-13, 2018) as only the second NCAA Division I freshman in the last 10 seasons with a four-game stretch of 80+ points, 25+ rebounds, 20+ assists, and 15+ 3-pointers made!

#3 Kylan Boswell

Kylan, the hometown kid, continued his massively improved play of late by throwing in 19 points including an impressive 7-of-7 from the charity stripe. He also led the team with 6 beautiful dimes to go with 5 rebounds. But the job he did with some help from a couple of teammates on Wisconsin star John Tonje by holding him to only 14 points, was stifling.

Honorable Mention: Tomislav Ivisic

Tomislav always does things to help the team be successful. Like last night he wasn’t hitting at a high clip but still had 9 points and a 11 rebounds, and just missed yet another double double!

Illinois will next host the Tennessee Volunteers Saturday at 4:30pm. The Vols beat Miami last night to move their record to 9-0 and they are currently the No. 1 ranked team in the nation!

[By JEFF MAYFIELD]

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