Illinois Basketball: Illini use 22-4 run to beat the Wisconsin Badgers

The Illinois basketball team has now won six out of their last seven games and are playing their best basketball as January turns to February in Big Ten play.

Since January 2020, the Illinois-Wisconsin rivalry has gone from one-sided and dull to one of the league’s best. You could also say that the Illini have the Badgers’ number, as the Kohl Center has become a feast for the Orange and Blue over the last few seasons.

And, yes, Illinois improved to 3-20 in the all-blue jerseys during the Brad Underwood era.

Saturday’s 61-51 Illini win was no exception. While the game began as a defensive slugfest and saw Illinois cling to a 20-16 halftime edge and witnessed Terrence Shannon Jr., enter foul trouble, the second half told an entirely different story.

The Badgers entered the game discombobulated. A road loss to Northwestern on Monday in Evanston marked their sixth loss in seven games after being ranked No. 14 the last time the Illini and Wisconsin shared a basketball floor.

The Illini went to work in the second half, as Matthew Mayer quieted the home crowd, finishing with 26 points and propelled Illinois with 10 points during a 22-4 run to close the game. The Illini scoring spree coincided with a Badgers run that gave Wisconsin a 35-34 lead.

While small on the stat sheet, RJ Melendez’s two points resulted in a highlight-reel dunk that turned the game in Illinois’ favor for good, as he has continued to impress over the last several weeks.

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Wisconsin was an abysmal 9-of-27 from three-point range, as the offense went cold after their 15-2 run and saw the Illini force nine turnovers, including two steals in the game. Its leading scorer, Chucky Hepburn, was productive and finished with 18 points. Jayden Epps added 13 points for the Illini.

Underwood was proud of his players and their mental and physical toughness to overcome a potential late rally from the Badgers.

"[Our toughness] has progressed a long way,” Underwood said after the victory. “A long way. I go back to…you know, we were in close games. You know, UCLA and Virginia and you know, even the Texas game. There were some dogfights in there and yet, you’ve gotta be able to execute. I’m not saying we weren’t tough, we didn’t execute very well at that time. You go back to Penn State and we just unraveled offensively. So, we’ve grown a lot. Like I said, practice helped. Extensive practice over Christmas, but, you know, we’ve still got room to grow and we have to grow to get where we want to go."

The uphill climb continues for the Illinois basketball team.

Since the Illini’s recent resurgence, the team has put themselves in a position to finish with a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament for the third-straight season, but continuing to win is the key to making that a reality.

Two days of rest will follow as Illinois welcomes the league’s second-worst team, Nebraska, for a Tuesday night home tilt at the State Farm Center. Illinois won the first matchup, 76-50, back on January 13 in Lincoln. The Illini now sit in a tie for fourth place atop the Big Ten standings.