No. 24 Wisconsin 75, Illinois 63: Sam Dekker and Ben Brust scored 16 points apiece as the visiting Badgers pulled away down the stretch.

Freshman forward Nigel Hayes added 14 points off the bench and Traevon Jackson also scored 14 in a starting role for Wisconsin (18-5, 5-5, Big Ten). Josh Gasser added eight points and eight rebounds for the Badgers.

Rayvonte Rice scored 18 of his 24 points in the second half and grabbed nine rebounds for Illinois (13-10, 2-8), which has lost eight straight – its longest losing streak in 40 years. Joseph Bertrand added 11 points, Nnanna Egwu finished with 10 points and three blocks and Tracy Abrams scored eight for the Illini.

Wisconsin gave up the game’s first five points before eventually taking its biggest lead of the first half at 33-24, thanks to a 9-0 run that culminated with a jumper by Hayes with 1:44 left in the half. The Badgers took a 36-30 advantage into the break and stretched it to 10 early in the second half before a 7-0 run in a 1:54 span by the Illini ended any chance of an early runaway.

The Illini, who either led or were tied with seven minutes left or less in six of their first nine losses this season, were still within three at the midpoint of the second half when they missed four shots that would have tied the score or cut the deficit to one. Wisconsin was able to extend the lead back to eight on a 3-pointer by Gasser with 4:28 left and Dekker hit two key 3-pointers in the final four minutes to keep Illinois from making a run.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Wisconsin has won seven straight against the Illini, the longest winning streak in series history. … Dekker was 4-for-7 from 3-point range after missing 18 of his last 20 entering Tuesday. … F Frank Kaminsky – the Badgers’ third-leading scorer (12.9) – missed his only field-goal attempt and scored two points, but contributed seven rebounds and two blocks.