National Basketball Association
Illinois 71, Wisconsin 70
When: 9:00 PM ET, Wednesday, January 8, 2020
Where: Kohl Center, Madison, Wisconsin
Officials:
# DJ Castensen, # Eric Curry, # Larry Scirotto
Attendance:
16108
By Field Level Media
Sophomore guard Ayo Dosunmu scored a team-high 18 points, including a crucial layup and 3-pointer in the final 90 seconds, and visiting Illinois rallied for a 71-70 win over Wisconsin in a Big Ten matchup Wednesday night in Madison, Wis.
Kofi Cockburn added 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting for Illinois (11-5, 3-2), which earned its second straight conference victory. The Fighting Illini snapped a record 15-game losing streak against Wisconsin and notched their first win over the Badgers since Jan. 2, 2011.
Kobe King scored a game-high 21 points on 10-for-13 shooting to lead Wisconsin (9-6, 2-2). Teammate Micah Potter finished with 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench.
Wisconsin led for much of the second half before Illinois' Alan Griffin hit a 3-pointer to even the score at 63-63 with 3:22 remaining. After Nate Reuvers made a jump shot for Wisconsin on the next possession, Trent Frazier knocked down a 3-pointer to put the Fighting Illini on top 66-65 with 1:54 left.
Brad Davison made two free throws to give Wisconsin a 67-66 lead with 1:32 remaining.
That is when Dosunmu took over for the Fighting Illini. The NBA prospect made a layup with 1:25 to go, followed by a 3-pointer with 46 seconds left, to give Illinois a 71-67 lead that it would not relinquish.
King made a 3-pointer to pull Wisconsin within a point, but D'Mitrik Trice missed a potential go-ahead shot in the final seconds to seal the outcome.
Wisconsin led 34-28 at the half.
The Badgers shot 50 percent (12 of 24) and made all eight of their free-throw attempts before the break. Illinois did not fare as well, shooting 38.7 percent (12 of 31) and making only 2 of 4 free throws.
Wisconsin opened the game on a 6-2 run behind a layup by Aleem Ford and back-to-back buckets by King. Illinois battled back for a competitive first half, tying the score at 21-all before the Badgers went on a 9-2 run to climb back on top before intermission.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Illinois |
|
Wisconsin |
Ayo Dosunmu 18 |
Scoring |
Kobe King 21 |
Ayo Dosunmu 6 |
Assists |
D'Mitrik Trice 4 |
Kofi Cockburn 6 |
Rebounds |
Micah Potter 9 |
Kofi Cockburn 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Micah Potter 8 |
Trent Frazier 1 |
Steals |
Micah Potter 1 |
Giorgi Bezhanishvili 1 |
Blocks |
Micah Potter 3 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Illinois
|
71 |
49.1 |
7-16 |
8-15 |
11 |
26 |
2 |
1 |
7 |
Wisconsin
|
70 |
43.4 |
4-15 |
20-23 |
5 |
31 |
6 |
3 |
8 |