Illinois won a ninth straight game against Wisconsin, keeping the pesky Badgers at bay and leading for nearly all 40 minutes. It was the Badgers' stars who struggled, with John Tonje (14 points), Max Klesmit (13 points) and Steven Crowl (nine points) combined to shoot 35.2 percent from the field and 31.2 percent from three-point land, while John Blackwell scored 10 points in limited action due to foul trouble.
Tre White and Kasparas Jakucionis paced the Illini, with Jakucionis dropping 24 points, six rebounds and five assists while White dropped 23 points and eight rebounds. Kylan Boswell chipped in 19 points, six assists and a pair of steals.
Illinois dominated the rebound margin, out-rebounding the Badgers by 11 and nabbing 15 offensive boards. Wisconsin had an uncharacteristically poor night from the charity stripe, knocking down merely 66.7 percent of their 21 attempts, despite leading the nation in free throw percentage prior to the contest.
Badgers get first-half spark from second unit
Wisconsin entered Tuesday's game ranking 308th of 355 Division 1 teams in bench points per game (16.7). The second unit delivered 15 points in the first half alone and kept the Badgers afloat amidst Illinois' runs.
After opening the game with a 4-0 lead, Wisconsin yielded nine straight points to the Fighting Illini. Carter Gilmore halted the run with five straight points -- he scored seven in the half -- before handing off the bench baton to Xavier Amos and Jack Janicki. Coming out of a timeout where Wisconsin trailed 14-11, Janicki found Amos cutting to the basket and Amos was fouled and mode both free throws. Janicki would find Steven Crowl on the very next possession for an easy lay-in before racking up a block, grabbing a rebound and hitting Max Klesmit for a three-pointer in transition.
Now back in the lead, it was Amos' turn to chip in, knocking down a three-pointer to extend the Badger lead to five with 10 minutes to play in the half. Illinois reclaimed a seven-point lead with 60 seconds left in the first half before Janicki and Amos struck again. Amos swatted a layup attempt by Kasparas Jakucionis from behind before Janicki stepped into a three-pointer in transition to make the halftime score 39-35 in favor of the Fighting Illini. Janicki finished the half with three points on one attempt, three assists, two rebounds and a block.
Fighting Illini Control Offensive Glass
As one of the most three-point reliant teams in the Big 10, Illinois gets their fair share of long offensive rebounds. They were especially active on the boards in the first half and turned the additional opportunities into points.
Illinois nabbed nine offensive rebounds in the first half -- one short of Wisconsin's rebound total -- and generated nine second-chance points. It's not a shock to see the Badgers trailing Illinois in the rebounding department, as the Illini average the most rebounds per game in the country. Still, winning in the rebound category has been a key to success for both sides. as each team came into the contest 6-1 in games where they lead in rebounds.
Even with favorable whistle, Wisconsin struggles to keep up after halftime
The Badgers got into the bonus five minutes into the second half, but failed to capitalize on the influx of fouls and trips to the charity stripe. Winter provided eight of Wisconsin's first 12 points, single-handedly keeping the Badgers close. Once the Winter flurry stopped, Wisconsin's offense fell stagnant. The Badgers would go nearly five minutes without a made field goal, a stretch in which Illinois outscored Wisconsin 15-4 -- including seven points by Jakucionis.
Four points from each of Tonje and Blackwell got Wisconsin back on track, trimming the double-digit deficit to just four points and the under-eight media timeout.
Badgers can't close gap
Wisconsin got within five points on several occasions in the final eight minutes. Yet, they were never able to get back to even, committing untimely turnovers, fouls or yielding momentum shifting baskets on defense.
Two scenarios stand out, specifically. Wisconsin trailed by five with 6:19 to play with Klesmit shooting two free throws. Klesmit would go 1-for-2, then a miscommunication on a ball screen left Jakucionis wide open for three. Klesmit, in a last-ditch effort, jumped out at Jakucionis and entered Jakucionis' landing space, setting up a four-point play for the Fighting Illini. The difference was four with 2:30 left when the Illini nabbed two offensive rebounds, with the second being a putback dunk by White over Gilmore.
The Badgers hung around deep into the second half, but couldn't string together enough quality posessions to pull off the comeback.
The Takeaway
Plainly put, the Badgers need to be better at the easy things. There were far too many miscommunications and missed rotations defensively, yielding open looks for an already explosive Illinois offense. Considering Greg Gard's defensive success historically and the current roster, It appears to be a fixable issue. Still, it's tough to win games in the Big 10 by giving up easy baskets.
Inconsistency continues to plague the offense. In 2023-24, Steven Crowl and Chucky Hepburn were ultra-reliable. In 2024-25, Crowl has been largely absent -- and perhaps a net negative -- while nobody has replicated Hepburn's consistency. During the Badgers' three-game skid, at least one of Tonje and Blackwell have struggled to create looks. Outside of those two, there are not many players capable of creating their own shot, leaving Wisconsin susceptible to extended offensive droughts.
Overall, the losing streak is more of a reality check for fans than a cause for panic. Expectations were not very high in the preseason. Heck, the Badgers were picked to finish 12th in the Big 10. Tonje, Blackwell and Winter, among others, have already been better than expected. But was this ever a top-10 or top-15 roster in the country?
Gard and co. will bounce back, and Wisconsin will still firmly be on track for an NCAA Tournament appearance, which is still ahead of where most predicted prior to Game 1.
Now 8-3, Wisconsin will be back in action Saturday, Dec. 14 for a neutral site game agianst Butler at 1:30 CT.