The Wisconsin Badgers weren’t capable of get it executed on the street towards the No. 24-ranked Illinois Combating Illini in a 79-69 loss. The Badgers have been with out their main scorer, Tyler Wahl, and ahead Carter Gilmore began in his place.
Wisconsin had two gamers end with over 20 factors in ahead Steven Crowl(20) and level guard Chucky Hepburn(22); nonetheless, the remainder of the staff solely mixed for 27 factors. The Combating Illini bought sizzling from deep within the second half and transformed 52.6 % of their three-pointers on the day. This proved an excessive amount of for Wisconsin, and Illinois was capable of construct a cushty result in put away the sport.
The Badgers will hopefully get Wahl again quickly since they’ve video games subsequent week towards Michigan State on Tuesday and Indiana on Saturday.
Under are photographs from Wisconsin basketball’s 79-69 street loss to the Illinois Combating Illini:
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NCAA Basketball: Wisconsin at Illinois
Jan 7, 2023; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard Chucky Hepburn (23) and Illinois Combating Illini…
Jan 7, 2023; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard Chucky Hepburn (23) and Illinois Combating Illini guard Jayden Epps (3) vie for the ball throughout the first half at State Farm Middle.
Jan 7, 2023; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Combating Illini ahead Matthew Mayer (24) drives the ball…
Jan 7, 2023; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Combating Illini ahead Matthew Mayer (24) drives the ball towards Wisconsin Badgers guard Jordan Davis (2) throughout the first half at State Farm Middle.
Jan 7, 2023; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Combating Illini guard Terrence Shannon Jr. (0) drives to…
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Jan 7, 2023; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Combating Illini guard Terrence Shannon Jr. (0) drives to the basket as Wisconsin Badgers ahead Steven Crowl (22) defends throughout the first half at State Farm Middle.
an 7, 2023; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Combating Illini ahead Dain Dainja (42) shoots the ball…
an 7, 2023; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Combating Illini ahead Dain Dainja (42) shoots the ball over Wisconsin Badgers ahead Steven Crowl (22) throughout the first half at State Farm Middle.
Jan 7, 2023; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Combating Illini guard Sencire Harris (1) drives the ball…
Jan 7, 2023; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Combating Illini guard Sencire Harris (1) drives the ball previous Wisconsin Badgers guard Chucky Hepburn (23) throughout the first half at State Farm Middle.
CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS – JANUARY 07: Head coach Greg Gard of the Wisconsin Badgers talks together with his…
CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS – JANUARY 07: Head coach Greg Gard of the Wisconsin Badgers talks together with his staff throughout a day trip throughout the first half within the sport towards the Illinois Combating Illini at State Farm Middle on January 07, 2023 in Champaign, Illinois.
CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS – JANUARY 07: Terrence Shannon Jr. #0 of the Illinois Combating Illini takes a…
CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS – JANUARY 07: Terrence Shannon Jr. #0 of the Illinois Combating Illini takes a shot over Jordan Davis #2 of the Wisconsin Badgers throughout the first half at State Farm Middle on January 07, 2023 in Champaign, Illinois.
HAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS – JANUARY 07: Dain Dainja #42 of the Illinois Combating Illini blocks the shot…
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HAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS – JANUARY 07: Dain Dainja #42 of the Illinois Combating Illini blocks the shot of Steven Crowl #22 of the Wisconsin Badgers throughout the first half at State Farm Middle on January 07, 2023 in Champaign, Illinois.
CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS – JANUARY 07: Tyler Wahl #5 of the Wisconsin Badgers on the bench with…
CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS – JANUARY 07: Tyler Wahl #5 of the Wisconsin Badgers on the bench with an harm throughout the first half within the sport towards the Illinois Combating Illini at State Farm Middle on January 07, 2023 in Champaign, Illinois.
CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS – JANUARY 07: Markus Ilver #35 of the Wisconsin Badgers takes a shot over…
CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS – JANUARY 07: Markus Ilver #35 of the Wisconsin Badgers takes a shot over Coleman Hawkins #33 of the Illinois Combating Illini throughout the first half at State Farm Middle on January 07, 2023 in Champaign, Illinois.
Tomiwa Durojaiye was a three-star recruiting win for Kentucky in the 2022 high school cycle. The Delaware native picked the Wildcats over South Carolina after recording 58 tackles, 25.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, and two forced fumbles as a senior. The senior defensive lineman would spend just one season in Lexington.
Duojiaye entered the transfer portal in the spring window ahead of the 2023 season. Durojaiye landed at West Virginia and had a strong year as a redshirt freshman. The defensive lineman recorded 23 tackles, six tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 14 pressures, and played 270 snaps. Despite the strong close to see playing for a 9-4 team, Durojaiye decided to enter the portal again.
Tomiwa Durojaiye landed at Florida State and only played 32 snaps this season. Durojaiye then became a three-time transfer when he entered the transfer portal on Dec. 9. The defensive lineman found another power conference home on Tuesday.
The defensive lineman has committed to Illinois and will play in a fourth power conference in 2025 after spending time in the SEC, Big 12, and ACC.
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Alex Afari Jr. and Josh Kattus are the only signees from Kentucky’s 2022 high school class remaining on the roster.
The transfer portal is open for business and so far we know of 20 players who will be seeking out greener pastures this offseason.
DL Keeshawn Silver (Committed to USC on Dec. 19)
DB Avery Stuart
LB Jayvant Brown
TE Tanner Lemaster (Committed to Eastern Michigan on Dec. 22)
TE Khamari Anderson (Committed to Arizona State on Dec. 22)
TE Jordan Dingle (Committed to South Carolina on Dec. 18)
OL Courtland Ford (Committed to UCLA on Dec. 17)
OL Ben Christman
OL Dylan Ray (Committed to Minnesota on Dec. 21)
OL Koby Keenum (Committed to Mississippi State on Dec. 22)
DL Tommy Ziesmer (Committed to EKU on Dec. 15)
WR Dane Key
WR Barion Brown (Committed to LSU on Dec. 14)
WR Anthony Brown-Stephens
WR Brandon White
EDGE Tyreese Fearbry (Committed to Wisconsin on Dec. 22)
EDGE Noah Matthews
EDGE Caleb Redd (Committed to Kansas on Dec. 20)
RB Chip Trayanum
QB Gavin Wimsatt
To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. Keep closer tabs on the Cats with our staff-only sticky thread on KSBoard, which will have updates on departures and targets throughout the offseason. Not a KSR+ member? Try it out today.
Sunday was a huge step forward for Illinois (8-3, 1-1 Big Ten) on multiple fronts. An 80-77 win over Missouri in the team’s annual Braggin’ Rights game was the headline, but the subtext was infinitely more important.
Against the Tigers (10-2, 0-0 SEC), the Illini came through in crunch time (after letting potential wins against Northwestern and No. 1 Tennessee slip through their grasp) and earned only their second win away from the State Farm Center this season. They also got the best of a physical battle for the first time and remained poised despite some highly questionable calls from the officials and some squirrelly behavior on the part of Mizzou.
It was arguably Illinois’ best team win yet of 2024-25. So how did the Illini grade out individually? We’re here to hand out the report cards:
In the postgame presser, Underwood gave Johnson a shout-out, saying that he thought the freshman forward had his best game of the year against Missouri. You’ll get no argument here. Johnson had six points (3-for-4 on field goals) and eight rebounds – including five on the offensive end – in just 19 minutes. His interior defense and rim protection have never been better or more valuable.
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Boswell’s field-goal shooting is the embodiment of hit-or-miss (2-fo-12 against the Tigers), but his on-ball defense was again elite – along with his rebounding (nine) and playmaking (a game-high five assists). Although he missed a free throw at the end that could have salted the game away, Boswell’s determination in going hard to the rim and 11-for-12 showing at the line were key difference-makers.
Jakucionis finished with 21 points against Mizzou – his sixth straight game of at least 20, only the fourth time since 1996-97 that a Big Ten freshman has achieved the feat. His clutch shooting and steady hand at the free-throw line (8-for-8) were vital, but his turnovers (five on Sunday) continue to be a problem – especially because many of them appear to be so preventable. Scary as it sounds, he’s still learning.
Foul trouble limited Ivisic for stretches against Missouri, but he was amazingly effective when essentially forced into action while handcuffed. He had several key stops and rebounds when the Tigers went at him – especially when they went at him with 7-foot, 300-pound Peyton Marshall. Ivisic managed 10 points and 11 important rebounds in a clipped 25 minutes.
Although plagued by the same foul issues experienced by Ivisic, White turned in similar production against Missouri: 13 points (on ultra-efficient 5-for-7 shooting) and eight rebounds. Additionally, he was an effective and versatile defender while taking nothing off the table (only two turnovers), which is what the Illini need from him moving forward.
Lawhorn had seven points on 3-for-4 shooting in just 14 minutes, and his energy – especially on a fastbreak layup that sent the Illini up 51-44 during a key second-half stretch – was just the lift Illinois needed on a day when foul trouble demanded that others to step into the breach.
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Underwood swears that Humrichous’ shooting stroke will come around, saying that – like any other player – he just happens to be “going through a moment.” We tend to agree. In the meantime, though, Humrichous’ struggles on offense are compounded by a lack of output on the boards (only one on Sunday) and his defensive matchup issues against long, athletic forwards such as Missouri’s Mark Mitchell, Trent Pierce and Aidan Shaw.
Riley is figuring out where he can fit in on this deep, well-balanced Illini squad while also going through some freshman fits and starts. The competition has improved, sure, but he also appears to be pressing rather than letting the game come to him as he did during his explosive start. He’ll get there.
3 Key Numbers from Illinois Basketball’s Win Over Missouri
3 Big Takeaways From Illinois Basketball’s Rivalry Win Against Missouri
Illinois Basketball Outlasts Missouri to Win a Braggin’ Rights Banger