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

[December 11, 2024]  By STEVE STEIN

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. 

Illinois guard Tre White, left, and Kylan Boswell (4) help up Kasparas Jakucionis during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Wisconsin on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Champaign, Ill. Illinois upset Wisconsin 86-80. (AP Photo/Craig Pessman)

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.

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.

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