The Badgers (8-2, 0-1 Big Ten) are in the middle of the most challenging portion of their early-season schedule. The four-game, four-city tour that started in Madison took them to Milwaukee on Saturday and now has them on the road to Champaign, Illinois.

The Wisconsin Badgers fell to the Illinois Fighting Illini 86-80 on Tuesday night.

And if there is one thing the Badgers men's basketball team showed during the early portion of the conference schedule, it’s that the line between victory and defeat is going to be especially thin. Last week the team suffered a three-point loss to Michigan.

Illinois beat No. 20 Wisconsin 86-80 on Tuesday. The Illini were led by Jakucionis, White and Boswell who combined for 66 points in the win.

Kasparas Jakucionis scored a career-high 24 points, Tre White had 23 points and eight rebounds and Kylan Boswell added 19 points and six assists to lead Illinois to an 86-80 win over No. 20 Wisconsin It was the fourth straight game that Jakucionis scored 20 or more points for the Illini,

In the meantime, it's our sworn duty to analyze the individual performances – both good and less than good – on the Illini side and make our own judgments, even if the grades

After falling out of the AP Top 25, Illinois responded with an 86-80 victory over Wisconsin. It was the Fighting Illini's ninth straight victory over the Badgers. Illinois got an outstanding performance from freshman Kasparas Jakucionis in what was the best game of his young college career.