MADISON, Wis. – Illinois fell to No. 11 Wisconsin away from home, 95-74, on Tuesday night.
The loss snapped the Fighting Illini’s nine-game winning streak against the Badgers and marked the Orange and Blue’s first defeat against Wisconsin in six years.
Going 6-for-11 from the field for 15 points in the second half, Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn poured in a team-high 17 points for his ninth outing in double figures this season. The Illini sophomore tallied three of his four rebounds on the offensive glass while also amassing a career-best five assists and a block.
After leading the team in scoring in the first half, Ben Humrichous finished with 13 points while shooting 3-for-6 from beyond the arc. He also logged four rebounds, two assists, a block, and a steal.
Will Riley recorded 11 points, his seventh-straight game with double-digit points, while also totaling three rebounds, three assists, a block, and a steal. Tre White added seven points, five rebounds, and a block in his return to the starting lineup.
Illinois will briefly pause its Big Ten schedule for a neutral-site non-conference matchup against No. 3 Duke on Saturday. The SentinelOne Classic between the Fighting Illini and the Blue Devils is slated for 7 p.m. CT at Madison Square Garden in New York City, while the game will air nationally on FOX.
HIGHLIGHTS
PRESS CONFERENCE
POSTGAME NOTES
Player Notes:
- Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn poured in a team-high 17 points while dishing out a career-high five assitss and tying a career-best mark with four rebounds.
- Ninth game of the season in double-figures scoring, first since Feb. 2 vs. Ohio State.
- Seventh game of the season with multiple 3-pointers.
- Knocked down first 3-pointers in six games since hitting a pair at Nebraska on Jan. 30
- Will Riley scored 11 points with three rebounds, three assists, a block, and a steal.
- Seventh consecutive game with 10+ points and 16th of the season.
- Ben Humrichous connected on three 3-pointers and finished with 13 points, four rebounds, two assists, a block, and a steal.
- 10th game in double-figures scoring
- 14th game with multiple 3-pointers (fourth in his last five games)
- Has knocked down a 3-pointer in 24 of 27 games
- Kasparas Jakucionis tallied six points, five rebounds, and two steals.
- Moved past Efrem Winters (385 points in 1982-83) into eighth place on the Illini’s freshman scoring list with 390 points.
- Fourth game this season with multiple steals, first since Nov. 25 against Little Rock.
- Held without an assist for the first time in his first 25 collegiate games.
- Jake Davis logged six points while going 2-for-4 from 3-point range.
- First start as an Illini.
- Fourth consecutive game with a 3-pointer (14th of the season).
- Fifth game of the season with multiple 3-pointers.
- Tre White returned to the starting lineup and recorded seven points (5-6 FTs) and five rebounds.
- Played more than 20 minutes (24) for first time since Jan. 30 at Nebraska.
- 14th game of the season with at least five rebounds
- Recorded his fifth game of the season with at least five free-throws.
- Tomislav Ivisic was listed as questionable in pregame, but came off the bench for the first time this season to record seven points and three rebounds.
- Played 21 minutes, 6 minutes below his season average.
Team Notes:
- Starting lineup: Kylan Boswell, Jake Davis, Ben Humrichous, Kasparas Jakucionis, Tre White
- Seventh different starting lineup of the season and the sixth in the last 12 games.
- The loss snaps Illinois’ streaks of nine straight wins over Wisconsin and four straight wins against the Badgers in Madison dating back to 2019.
- Allowed 95 points by the Badgers, the most by a Big Ten opponent this season.
- Wisconsin shot 52.3% (34-65) from the field matching USC (Jan. 11) for Illinois’ opponent season high.
- Illinois was outrebounded, 39-30, just the fifth game of the season in which the Illini lost the battle of the boards.
- The Illini were outrebounded in back-to-back games for the first time in 37 contests dating back to a two-game stretch last season vs. Wisconsin (3/2/24) and Purdue (3/5/24).
- Illinois’ 30 total rebounds marked a season low and the team’s lowest total since pulling down 29 vs. Purdue (3/5/24).
- The Illini scored 13 points on 10 forced turnovers, the team’s third-most points scored off turnovers in Big Ten play this season.
- Illinois’ bench outscored its Wisconsin counterpart 35-16.
- The 35 bench points are the fifth-most in a single game this season.
