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Mar 13, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini center Tomislav Ivisic (13) defends Wisconsin Badgers forward Aleksas Bieliauskas (32) during the second half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images
Another game against Illinois. Another heart-stopping overtime win.
The 23rd-ranked Wisconsin Badgers came back from down 15 points in the second half to upset the ninth-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini, 91-88 in overtime. It was the Badgers’ second come-from-behind overtime victory over the Illini this season. Back on February 10th, the Badgers rallied from down 12 in the second half to win 92-90 in Champaign.
Rebounding was a major key in the upset win for Wisconsin. Against Washington on Thursday, the Huskies dominated the glass by a 45-29 margin against the Badgers. Against Illinois, Wisconsin improved the rebounding effort. The Badgers won the rebounding margin 37-36 and gathered 11 offensive rebounds compared to the Illini’s nine.
Now, the Badgers get to take on the big dog of the Big Ten on Saturday in Michigan. Wisconsin has the distinction of being the only Big Ten team to hand the Wolverines a conference loss. There’s no question that Dusty May’s team wants to exact revenge.
Here are three standouts from Wisconsin’s overtime win over Illinois:
Nick Boyd
You shouldn’t have gotten him going, Kylan Boswell.
One day after John Blackwell scored a school-record 34 points in a Big Ten tournament game, Boyd broke that with a career-high 38 points. In addition, Boyd led the Badgers with a team-high six assists.
When the Badgers were down big in the second half, Boyd responded with 22 points in the half. Just a tremendous performance from a guard who showed he’s better than second-team All-Big Ten.
John Blackwell
Speaking of Blackwell, the junior guard was second in scoring behind Boyd with 31 points on 9-of-17 shots from the floor. When Blackwell and Boyd are scoring, this team can compete with anyone in the nation, as Illinois found out. On Friday, Blackwell and Boyd combined for 69 points in the victory.
Aleksas Bieliauskas and Austin Rapp
Both forwards deserve recognition for gathering eighteen rebounds against the top rebounding team in the Big Ten. Bieliauskas gathered nine rebounds and scored six points, while Rapp also collected nine rebounds and scored eight points. In overtime, Rapp hit the biggest three-pointer of the game for Wisconsin to make it 85-80, Badgers.
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