The Big Ten conference slate hasn’t gone as Brad Underwood and Illinois basketball would have hoped, and that unfortunate trend continued on Tuesday night. With a chance to bolster their NCAA Tournament resume and move up in the conference standings, Illinois got crushed 95-74 on the road by No. 11 Wisconsin.
The game stayed fairly close in the first half before the Badgers used the fuel from their home crowd to pull away and make the final score much more lopsided than most of the game was. After the game, Illinois made the curious decision to not shake Wisconsin’s hands, which caught the attention of many fans. However, Underwood later clarified the reason for the decision, via Glenn Kinley of WCIA3.
Brad Underwood says the reason he suggested calling off the handshake line is because Illinois is so sick. He didn’t want to spread it to Wisconsin.
Jake Davis got sick pregame and didn’t even join the team at halftime. Tomislav Ivisic didn’t travel with the team and drove up to… pic.twitter.com/LvF91MgoZ0
— Glenn Kinley (@glenn_kinley) February 19, 2025
“They don’t need this [illness],” Underwood said, not wanting to spread the sickness to the Badgers. “38 years, I’ve never seen anything like what’s gone through our team.”
Illness or not, Underwood and the rest of his staff will be disappointed with this performance that Illinois put forth, especially in the second half. For the game, Wisconsin finished with 48 points in the paint and got to the free throw line 22 times, constantly imposing its will on the game and forcing the issue against a sluggish Illini defense. Wisconsin is one of the best rim pressure teams in the country, and having a bunch of sick players is not ideal in this matchup.
Wisconsin’s John Tonje had yet another masterful performance in this game to add to his list of gems against the best teams on the Badgers’ schedule. The Missouri transfer finished with 31 points — his fourth 30-point game of the season — and carried the Wisconsin offense throughout the game. Illinois had absolutely no answer for Tonje, and that showed on the scoreboard time and time again.
In an odd scheduling quirk, Underwood and company will now turn their attention away from the Big Ten for a blockbuster non-conference matchup coming on Saturday. No. 3 Duke will meet Illinois at Madison Square Garden for a monster neutral-site tip in what is a massive opportunity for this Illinois basketball team to get some momentum heading into the end of the regular season. Illinois has come up just short in a lot of marquee games this season, but Saturday presents another chance for it to get a signature win.
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