The Badgers rose to a major blowout victory at the Kohl Center on Tuesday.
February 18th, 2019, was the last time the Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Illinois Fighting Illini. Since that game, Illinois has won nine straight against the Badgers, including four in a row at the Kohl Center until now. The Badgers snapped the Illini streak with a dominant 95-74 win on Tuesday night.
Wisconsin’s offense continues to set new records. For the first time since Steve Yoder’s final season, the Badgers dropped 90+ points in back-to-back conference games.
The last time the Badgers scored 90+ in back-to-back Big Ten games was in 1992
92-78 win over Illinois, Feb. 20, 1992
96-78 win over Michigan, Feb. 26, 1992— Patrick Herb (@PatrickHerb) February 19, 2025
With the win, the Badgers moved up to seventh in KenPom with the sixth-best offense in the country.
Here are three standouts from Wisconsin’s win over Illinois:
John Tonje
Tonje continued to show the nation why he’s arguably the best transfer in men’s college basketball, scoring 31 points in the Badgers’ win.
John Tonje was lights out again tonight, scoring 31 in @BadgerMBB‘s win over Illinois
He’s scored 20+ in 7 of his last 8 games pic.twitter.com/DmwZuAswXt
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) February 19, 2025
While AJ Storr finished with three points in Kansas’ blowout loss to BYU, tonight was Tonje’s fifth game with 30 or more points, further legitimizing his candidacy for Big Ten Player of the Year.
Steven Crowl
Remember when Greg Gard challenged Crowl to be more aggressive after his zero-rebound performance against Illinois in December? Crowl redeemed himself in a big way by hitting his first four shots in what might be his last game against the Illini with 20 points, five assists, and seven rebounds. It was Crowl’s first 20-point game of the season.
After the game, Gard was asked about Crowl’s performance in his press conference and stated, “An aggressive Steve makes us better.” If Wisconsin can consistently get this performance from Crowl, the Badgers will make a deep run in the 2025 NCAA tournament.
John Blackwell
Blackwell turned in another solid performance, scoring 16 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Tonight was Blackwell’s third straight game with 10 points or more, as he continues to solidify his case as an All-BIg Ten guard this season.