Badgers Pick Up Another Top-10 Road Upset Over Illinois, 92-90
On Saturday, the Wisconsin Badgers suffered a heartbreaking 78-77 overtime loss to Indiana in Assembly Hall. Coming into Tuesday’s matchup against No. 8 Illinois, the hope was that the visitors would fix their mistakes this time around.
That they did. The Badgers pulled off their second AP Top-10 road win of the season, defeating the Fighting Illini in another game that went past regulation, 92-90. In a miraculous offensive performance, Greg Gard and company moved to 17-7 on the season and 9-4 in the Big Ten versus the No. 1 offense in the country, according to KenPom.
Wisconsin’s Offense Started Hot to Keep Up
The Badgers shot 57% from both the field and three in the first few minutes, taking control early. They were up by as many as eight points with deep shots from John Blackwell and Braeden Carrington. Unfortunately, the No. 1 offense in the country responded in a major way.
While Wisconsin forced five turnovers and grabbed nine offensive rebounds, Illinois went on a 14-8 run in the final five and a half minutes. Freshman sensation Keaton Wagler and towering big man Tomislav Ivisic took over with a combined 28 points in 20 minutes. The Badgers had a relatively even scoring distribution throughout the period.
In this battle of elite offenses, defense became key for the Badgers to keep it close, being down 44-38 at the break. They would swarm the Fighting Illini in the post and run perimeter players off the line, a major key to the game. One thing to note is that while Wisconsin had 13 bench points from nine players, the home team had zero. It was expected, given a limited rotation.
Illinois’ offense showed up big time, shooting 58.1% from the field and 47.1% from three. Interestingly enough, the team had just 18 paint points and shot just one free throw. Blackwell led the way with 10 points and four rebounds on 4-of-11 shooting in 18 minutes.
Offensive Timeline Flipped the Other Way in the Second Half
The second half saw Wisconsin continue its cold shooting for the early portion, going more than seven minutes without a field goal. Illinois continued to get efficient looks, shooting FG% from the field and 3PT% from three for the game.
But like they’ve done all season long, the Badgers would get hot late, outscoring the Fighting Illini 29-18 in the final 10 minutes. Blackwell, Nick Boyd and Austin Rapp combined for 35 second-half points, shooting 7-for-11 from beyond the arc.
Wagler continued his dominance with 20 points in the second half, scoring at all three levels and proving why he’s a lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. The 6-foot-6 freshman put up 20 on an unbelievable 6-for-9 shooting in 19 minutes.
Down 10 with seven minutes to go, Wisconsin went on a 17-7 run to force overtime, but not without getting the last shot. After a Rapp three-pointer to take the lead with less than a minute to go, Wagler drew the foul to get the game even. Blackwell ended up with a deep look late in the shot clock, but he missed a game-winner in regulation for the second straight game.
Badgers Pull Away in Overtime
In another road overtime game, the Badgers started hot, unlike Saturday’s performance. Boyd took over with five of Wisconsin’s points on an 8-0 run to go up 89-81 with two and a half minutes to go. From there, Wagler, Zvonimir Ivisc and David Mirkovic responded with a 6-0 run of their own to cut the lead to two.
With less than a minute to go, a missed Blackwell jumper was rebounded by a clutch Nolan Winter. Illinois would send Braeden Carrington to the line, who hit both to put the Badgers up four. But the Fighting Illini wouldn’t go away with a Ben Humrichous three.
After one free-throw from Blackwell, Wagler’s deep shot would be off the mark. Wisconsin picked up its second top-10 road win this season, off a combined 49 points between Blackwell and Boyd. A fantastic effort from the Badgers saw the result pay off this time around.
