Matthew Mayer scored 18 of his career-high 26 points in the second half and Illinois defeated Wisconsin 61-51 on Saturday.
Mayer drained five 3-pointers and shot 9 of 19 overall. Jayden Epps added 13 points for the Fighting Illini (15-6, 6-4 Big Ten), who have won six of seven.
Chucky Hepburn scored 15 points and Max Klesmit returned from a two-game injury absence to score 12 for the Badgers (12-8, 4-6), losers of three straight and six of seven.
Mayer scored 10 points in a 22-4 run that began midway through the second half, erasing Wisconsin’s only lead in the half and putting the Illini up by 17 with four minutes remaining.
After the teams combined for the conference’s lowest-scoring first half of the season — Illinois led 20-16 at the break — the Illini got off to a quick start in the second with Mayer scoring eight of their first 12 points to take a 12-point lead. But Wisconsin responded with a 15-2 run with Hepburn hitting a pair of 3-pointers plus a drive and basket that put the Badgers up by a point.
The Illini opened 1-of-7 shooting and Wisconsin 1 of 10 as the teams combined for just five points by the first media timeout. Illinois shot 33% and Wisconsin a dismal 18%, the teams combining to go 15-for-60 overall and 5 of 24 from 3-point range.
Illinois, which beat Wisconsin at home 79-69 on Jan. 7, has won six straight in the series and three in a row in Madison.
Illinois plays host to Nebraska on Tuesday. Wisconsin is at Ohio State on Thursday.
