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Wisconsin (21-5, 11-4 Big Ten) had lost its
last nine matchups with the Fighting Illini, including an 86-80
defeat Dec. 10 at Illinois. Wisconsin had won 15 straight
meetings immediately before that stretch.
Tonje's big performance came three nights after he had 32 points
in a 94-84 win at No. 13 Purdue, which was ranked seventh at the
time. He's the fourth player in school history to score at least
30 points in consecutive games.
Wisconsin's Steven Crowl added a season-high 20 points to go
along with seven rebounds and five assists. John Blackwell had
16 points.
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn had 17 points, Ben Humrichous 13 and Will
Riley 11 for Illinois (17-10, 9-8).
Takeaways
Illinois: The Illini didn’t have second-leading rebounder Morez
Johnson Jr. due to a broken wrist. Tomislav Ivisic, Illinois'
top rebounder and second-leading scorer, had seven points and
three rebounds while playing through an illness.
Wisconsin: The Badgers are scoring 82 points per game and are on
pace for their highest average since 1970-71, when they had a
school-record 86.3 points per game. This was their 15th game
with at least 80 points.
Key moment
Blackwell made three straight baskets to turn a 13-all tie into
a 19-13 Badgers lead. Wisconsin stayed ahead the rest of the
way.
Key stat
Wisconsin had a 39-30 rebounding edge. Illinois came in with a
plus-9.7 rebound margin that ranked second among all Division I
teams – behind only Milwaukee. Illinois outrebounded Wisconsin
40-29 on Dec. 10.
Up next
Illinois faces No. 3 Duke in New York on Saturday, while
Wisconsin hosts Oregon.
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