by MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Frank Kaminsky started hot for Wisconsin, then Bronson Koenig (Ho-Chunk Nation) and Nigel Hayes finished off Illinois.
Kaminsky had 23 points and 11 rebounds, and the fifth-ranked Badgers won 68-49 on Sunday to clinch the best start in school history.
Kaminsky hit eight of his first nine shots on his way to 17 first-half points, but was then held scoreless for more than 16 minutes. But Koenig and Hayes combined to score 23 points in the second half as Wisconsin (23-2, 11-1 Big Ten) put the game away.
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“Our guys really don’t go out there and say, ‘OK, let’s make sure Frank gets his X number of points and then we’ll go get ours,'” coach Bo Ryan said. “We took what they gave us. That’s all we ever do.”
Koenig finished with 15 points, and Hayes added 14.
Illinois (17-9, 7-6) started the game hot, and four 3-pointers in just more than three minutes infuriated Ryan. Wisconsin responded by clamping down on defense.
The Illini then missed seven of their last eight shots in the half, and the Badgers sandwiched a 20-4 run around halftime. Illinois got no closer than nine points the rest of the way.
“It just goes to show you that we can beat you in a lot of different ways,” Kaminsky said.
Malcolm Hill scored 14 points and Rayvonte Rice added 10 to lead Illinois, which had won four straight.
The Illini had held all four opponents to under 60 points and 40 percent shooting. But of those teams, only Michigan State ranks in the top half of the Big Ten in scoring average.
Illinois coach John Groce said he was most disappointed that his team was outrebounded 32-25 and allowed Wisconsin to turn 15 offensive rebounds into 12 points.
“Now you’ve got to sit down and guard them again,” Groce said. “They’re already the No. 1 offensive efficiency team in the last 17 years of analytics, so it would be preferable to guard them one time, instead of multiple times in a trip down the floor.”
