University of Washington
10-5,1-3Big Ten
Illinois
11-3,3-1Big Ten
UW Pushes No. 22 Illinois To Final Possession In 81-77 Thriller
January 05, 2025 | Men's Basketball
SEATTLE (AP) -- Luis Kortright's layup tied the game at 75 with 47 seconds left, but No. 22 Illinois survived a furious comeback bid by Washington to squeak out an 81-77 victory Sunday at Alaska Airlines Arena.
The Fighting Illini (11-3, 3-1 Big Ten), UW's first college opponent at Hec Ed in 1927, had a 17-point lead but the Huskies came back and tied it at 75 before Kasparas Jakucionis scored and put the Illini ahead for good.
DJ Davis led the Huskies (10-5, 1-3) with 31 points, finishing 7 for 14 from beyond the arc, all career highs. His seven three-pointers were the most by a Husky since Dominic Green hit seven against Eastern Washington in 2018.
Kortright finished in double figures with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting.
Great Osobor, Washington's leading scorer, finished with nine points.
The Huskies shot 56.7% in the second half to nearly complete the comeback.
He's on fire! ??
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 5, 2025
DJ Davis drains his career-high 7th 3-pointer of the day.#B1GMBBall on @BigTenNetwork ?? pic.twitter.com/FmjgOIow8p
Kortright's game-tying layup capped an 8-0 run for the Huskies, before Jakucionis answered.
UW forced nine first-half Illinois turnovers on seven steals. Osobor had four takeaways for his fourth game this season with four or more steals.
Vazoumana Diallo tallied a career-high seven assists to go with eight points.
Washington will travel to traditional Big Ten country for the first time this season with a two-game swing to Michigan, opening with a matchup at No. 18 Michigan State on Thursday. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. PT on Big Ten Network.
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