Fighting Illini Fall To Badgers, 72-60

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) – Freshman Giorgi Bezhanishvili scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Illinois, but it wasn't enough as the Fighting Illini fell to the Wisconsin Badgers, 72-60, at State Farm Center Wednesday night.

The Badgers uncharacteristically turned the ball over five times in the first 3 minutes of the game and 17 times for the game, tying their season high.

At the end of the half and Badger All-American Ethan Happ on the bench with two fouls, Illinois went on an 8-0 run to tie the game at 30. With a second left in the half, D'Mitrik Trice heaved a shot from the top of the key and was fouled by Illini Andres Feliz. Trice sank both shots with a tenth of a second on the clock to give Wisconsin a 32-30 lead at the midway point.

In the second half, Illinois tied the game up at 49-49 with 9:37 left, but the Badgers countered with a 13-3 run and held on down the stretch.

Nate Reuvers scored a game-high 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while D'Mitrik Trice and Khalil Iverson added 16 and 12 points respectively for Wisconsin (13-6,5-3 Big Ten). Happ was held to a season-low 9 points and turned the ball over six times.

Aaron Jordan added 10 points and seven rebounds for Illinois (5-14,1-7), while Trent Frazier added nine points and three steals, and Ayo Dosunmu eight points and four assists.

Wisconsin has now won its last 14 games against Illinois, the longest current win streak in the Big Ten. Overall, Illinois leads the series 110-88 overall and 68-27 at home.

• Up Next: The Illini head to New York City on Saturday for an early afternoon showdown with Maryland at Madison Square Garden. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m. on BTN.   

ILLINOIS POSTGAME NOTES

TEAM NOTES

• Wednesday's game marked the 198th all-time meeting between Illinois and Wisconsin, with the Illini leading the all-time series, 110-88.

•  Illinois forced 17 turnovers, Wisconsin's most in a regulation game in over a year (20 at Purdue 1/16/2018). Wisconsin's 17 turnovers tied a season high (17 vs. Purdue 1/11/2019 in an overtime loss).

• The Illinois defense forced Wisconsin to surpass its season average for turnovers (9.7) in only 20:30 of game time. Wisconsin entered the game fourth in the nation in turnovers per game.

• Wisconsin made its first seven field goals over the opening 8:44 of the game, while committing seven turnovers during that stretch.

• Illinois held Wisconsin redshirt senior forward Ethan Happ to nine points on 3-of-6 shooting, his season-low in points. It was Happ's lowest scoring game since scoring nine at Penn State 12/4/2017, a span of 43 games.

• Illinois forced five turnovers by Wisconsin redshirt sophomore guard D'Mitrik Trice, a career high in his 66th career game (previous high was 4 vs. Minnesota 1/3/2019).
 

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Freshman Giorgi Bezhanishvili scored a team-high 20 points, marking his third-career game with 20+ points. Bezhanishvili also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.