John Tonje scored 31 points and No. 11 Wisconsin beat Illinois 95-74 on Tuesday night to earn its fifth straight victory and end its recent run of futility in this series.
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.
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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).
Illinois Fighting Illini vs. No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers Highlights | FOX College Hoops
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 on FOX, while Wisconsin hosts Oregon.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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