CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — When Wisconsin guard John Blackwell missed his second free throw with five seconds to play in overtime Tuesday night, Illinois center Zvonimir Ivišić grabbed the rebound to give Illinois a final chance to put the Badgers away. With the Illini down two points with no timeouts le ft, Ivišić handed the ball off to freshman Keaton Wagler, who drove past the half-court line and launched a desperation 3-pointer with all five Wisconsin players around him and time expiring. The basketball bounced off the front of the rim, and Wisconsin held on for a 92-90 overtime win over No. 8 Illinois. The Badgers, led by 49 total points from veteran guards Blackwell and Nick Boyd, lingered on the State Farm Center court afterward to celebrate their second top-10 road win this season after beating No. 2 Michigan on Jan. 10. The Illini (20-5, 11-3 Big Ten), meanwhile, suffered their second straight overtime loss after also losing at No. 10 Michigan State on Saturday. Before that, Illinois hadn’t lost since Dec. 13. But Illinois coach Brad Underwood wasn’t interested in being negative after the game despite the Illini’s first two-game losing streak of the season. “I’m really proud of our guys,” Underwood said. “I don’t have one complaint. We just need health. It changes things.” The Illini were without two starters and rotated just six players for all but the 57 seconds that freshman guard Brandon Lee was on the court. Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard celebrates with John Blackwell after a game against Illinois on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, in Champaign, Ill. (AP Photo/Craig Pessman) Andrej Stojaković, who played through a sprained ankle against Michigan State, was listed as questionable before the game. He went through pregame warmups Tuesday but never came off the bench for the Illini. With veteran guard Kylan Boswell missing his seventh game with a fractured hand, that meant the Illini were without two of their top three scorers from the first two months of this season. Stojaković had scored 17 points in each of the previous two games. Underwood said he thought the absences caused the Illini to be “off script” at times. They committed 13 turnovers, and Wisconsin (17-7, 9-4) got 14 offensive rebounds to Illinois’ eight on the offensive glass. Illinois freshmen Wagler and David Mirković also combined to miss five free throws down the stretch in regulation and overtime. “Missed free throws, turnovers and rebounds cost us the game,” junior center Tomislav Ivišić said. “We definitely need to be more focused in the end. We had the lead, and we let it go easily. We need to be mature like we did in most of the games this season and close out the games.” Boyd and Blackwell, who also combined for nine assists, were too much for the Illini late, scoring 33 of their points after halftime to help the Badgers erase a 12-point second-half deficit. Sophomore forward Austin Rapp added 18 points and three assists, including three of his four 3-pointers in the second half. “They’re two dynamic guards,” Wagler said. “They got downhill on us, drew fouls, pushed the pace in transition. They knocked down some big-time shots late in the game. It’s hard to guard players like that, especially when they have shooting bigs.” Illinois guard Keaton Wagler reaches toward the basket as Wisconsin's Andrew Rohde defends during the first half on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, in Champaign, Ill. (AP Photo/Craig Pessman) One game after having a rough outing at Michigan State, Wagler had 34 points and seven assists, though he missed 2 of 4 free throws late in regulation. Guard Jake Davis, playing in front of the Orange Krush student section wearing curly strawberry blond wigs meant to look like his hair, had 11 points and three assists. Tomislav Ivišić added 19 points and 11 rebounds, with 17 points coming in the first half. “In the second half, they were way more active, didn’t let the pass down easy, closed out my shots better,” Tomislav Ivišić said. With 55 seconds to play in the second half, Rapp hit a 3-pointer to give Wisconsin an 81-80 lead. Wagler tied it up with the first of two free throws before missing the second. Blackwell then missed a 3-pointer with 3 seconds to play, and Illinois’ Ben Humrichous grabbed the rebound to send the game to overtime. Wisconsin scored the first eight points of overtime — all from Boyd and Blackwell — but Illinois cut into the lead on a Zvonimir Ivišić layup on a Wagler feed and then a Wagler 3-pointer. Humrichous hit a 3-pointer with 6 seconds left to cut it to 91-90 before Blackwell’s free throw and Wagler’s late heave. “Nick I didn’t think played well early,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. “Obviously, we missed a lot of layups, missed stuff around the rim. Some of that is due to their size. Some of that is due to us just rushing at times. But when it was time to close the gap and time to close the game, and unfortunately we couldn’t get it done in regulation, that combo is a heck of a backcourt.” Illinois stays home Sunday to face unranked Indiana, which beat Wisconsin 78-77 in overtime Saturday. It’s unclear if they’ll have any additional help. Underwood said he had no idea how long Stojaković’s injury would linger. Boswell has returned to practice, but Illinois needs to evaluate how his hand is progressing this week. The Illini players reflected Underwood’s mindset afterward. “There’s no room for negativity now,” Tomislav Ivišić said. “We still have a lot of games in the season. We’re in a good spot. Do I think we should have won this game? Yes. Wisconsin is a great team. We knew what they were capable of. But we can’t be affected by this.” ...read more read less