The University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team started out strong and never trailed as they knocked off the University of Illinois 57-43 in Champaign. A 16-2 run to start allowed the Badgers to play from ahead the entire game.
Despite never trailing, the Badgers’ shooting woes from Saturday’s battle against Rutgers continued as UW shot 30.4 percent from downtown against Illinois. The Badgers made up for the poor shooting from three with a strong defense and inside game.
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Redshirt sophomore Ethan Happ led the team in scoring with 14 while also recording a double-double with 13 rebounds. Senior Nigel Hayes also had a strong game, contributing 11 points and eight rebounds. But it was more of a group effort offensively than usual for the Badgers with good minutes from Charles Thomas, Aaron Moesch and athletic forward Kahlil Iverson, who pitched in with six points.
“I thought everyone contributed positively,” head coach Greg Gard said in the postgame press conference.
The Badgers ultimately won the game because of their dominance on the boards as they out-rebounded the Illini 45-36, including 19-6 on the offensive glass. The inside presence allowed the Badgers to control the tempo and keep Illinois well under their 80.5 average points per game at home.
The Illini struggled to score for most of the game despite getting the lead down to six points in the second half. Malcolm Hill and Maverick Morgan led Illinois in scoring with 10 points apiece. Illinois looked to be out of rhythm for most of the game as they stumbled to 28 percent shooting from the floor and 24 percent shooting from three for the night.
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Free-throw shooting was not a big part of either team’s offensive arsenal, with the Badgers going 2-9 from the free-throw line and the Illini going 6-9. Happ and Hayes continued to struggle from the charity stripe with Happ going 0-3 and Hayes 2-4. This continues to be a concern for an otherwise solid Badgers team as foul shots could decide close games down the road in the Big Ten Tournament and during the NCAA tournament.
The Badgers will look to stay atop the Big Ten as Indiana comes to the Kohl Center on Sunday. Tip-off is scheduled for noon.
