Fresh off an underwhelming performance against the Maryland Terrapins, the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team (12-8, 4-6) fell to Brad Underwood’s Illinois Fighting Illini (15-6, 6-4) 61-51 Jan. 28 in Madison.
The orange and blue have mastered UW’s scheme — the Illini now boast a six-game winning streak against the Badgers since January of 2020, including a 79-69 victory in Champaign in early January.
With a full slate of conference matches on the horizon, Greg Gard’s group entered a borderline must-win situation. Backed by over 17,000 raucous members of Badger fans jam-packed into the Kohl Center, Wisconsin appeared poised for a momentum-shifting triumph with just a month remaining until the Big Ten Tournament.