By IlliniGuys Staff

February 18, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

MADISON, Wisc. - The Illinois basketball team refused to shake hands with their Wisconsin opponents after Tuesday night's 95-74 Badgers win.

And the victors applauded their decision.

Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn scored a team-high 17 points and was one of the few bright spots for a flu-ridden Illini team that couldn't slow down the No. 11 team in the country as Wisconsin snapped a nine-game losing streak in the series and beat Illinois in Kohl Center for the first time in five tries.

Starting center Tomislav Ivisic spent Monday night battling the flu, missing the team flight to Madison and the morning shootaround, but drove the four hours to contribute seven points and three rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench.

With Ivisic ailing and power forward Morez Johnson Jr. missing his first game with a broken left wrist, sophomore forward Jake Davis got his first start as an Illini, He managed a pair of three-pointers in eight minutes of play before spending the second half in the locker room battling flu symptoms of his own.

Despite the setbacks, Illinois (17-10. 9-8 in Big Ten) battled to stay in the game. Falling behind 39-26, the Illini rallied with a 15-8 run to close with 47-41. Freshman Will Riley scored seven of his 11 points during that stretch.

The Illini got as close as 50-45 on a Gibbs-Lawhorn three-pointer with 18:45 left in the game., but John Tonje seemed to answer every Illinois score with a basket of his own. The Badgers' scoring star poured in 21 of his game-high 31 points in the second half to help the streaking Badgers win their 13th game in their last 15 outings.

Ben Humrichous was the other Illini scoring in double figures with 13 points. Kasparas Jakucionis struggled handling ball, committing a season-high tying seven turnovers. Illinois is 0-5 when the freshman records six turnovers or more.

Illinois really missed Johnson and a less-than-healthy Ivisic on the boards. The No. 2 rebounding team in the country at 44.3 per game, managed just nine offensive rebounds and only 30 total against 39 for Wisconsin (21-5, 11-4) as the Illini fall to 0-5 when failing to outrebound their opponent. It's the fifth game in a row that Illinois has grabbed less than 40 rebounds.

The Illini have a couple of days to get everyone healthy before stepping out of conference to face 3rd ranked Duke Saturday night at New York City's Madison Square Garden. Illinois has won games in the famous arena the last two seasons, stunning then-2nd ranked Texas 85-78 in overtime in December, 2022 before toppling then-No. 11 Florida Atlantic 98-89 in December, 2023. It's a 7pm EST tipoff and can be seen on FOX.

Stay with IlliniGuys.com for complete postgame coverage.