It was another sloppy night of basketball for the Wisconsin Badgers on Wednesday night in Champaign, Ill., but in the end, Bucky found a way to persevere, 72-60 over Illinois.
The Badgers (13-6, 5-3 Big Ten) extended their winning streak against the Illini (5-14, 1-7) to 14 games, including seven straight in Champaign. The last Illinois victory over the Badgers came in the 2010-’11 season, a 69-61 win in Champaign.
With senior forward Ethan Happ in foul trouble most of the night, sophomore Nate Reuvers came to the rescue with a collegiate high 22 points. He added 10 rebounds as well, as the Badgers broke open a close game in the final minutes.
Reuvers made 7 of 11 shots overall, 2 of 3 three-pointers and all six of his free-throw attempts. The Badgers as a team went 17 of 21 for the game.
Happ saw his string of 42 straight games with double-digit points come to an end, finishing with 9 points and 9 rebounds. He did become the sixth player in Big Ten history to record at least 1,900 points and 1,000 rebounds.
D’Mitrik Trice added 16 points and senior Khalil Iverson finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Illinois made just 4 of 21 three-pointers and 12 of 22 from the free throw line. They were led in scoring by freshman Giorgi Bezhanishvili, who had 20 points.
Wisconsin entered the game averaging 9.6 turnovers a game but had 17 on the night.
The Badgers return home to Madison and will host Northwestern on Saturday afternoon at the Kohl Center.
