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No. 4 Wisconsin blasts No. 23 Illinois

Jan 9, 2014 - 7:12 AM Madison, WI (SportsNetwork.com) - Bo Ryan is working his magic again.

Balanced scoring, slowing the pace, playing hard-nosed defense and not turning the ball over has always been Ryan's staples. Except this time, Wisconsin is off to its best start in program history.

Ben Brust was one of five Badgers in double figures with 18 points and No. 4 Wisconsin routed No. 23 Illinois 95-70 on Wednesday night.

Sam Dekker had 17 points and six rebounds, Frank Kaminsky and Traevon Jackson each netted 15 and Nigel Hayes added 11 for the Badgers (16-0, 3-0 Big Ten), who have won six straight in the series.

Wisconsin, which leads the country in fewest turnovers committed at 8.5 per game and have four players averaging double figures in scoring, are a win away from matching its school mark of 17 straight victories set by the 2006-07 squad.

"I'm proud of the players, I'm proud of the team, I'm proud of what they've accomplished to this point. Let's try to keep it going," Ryan said of being the first Wisconsin team to begin 16-0.

Rayvonte Rice had 19 points and nine boards to lead Illinois (13-3, 2-1), which had its four-game winning streak snapped. Joseph Bertrand added 18 points and nine boards in the setback.

Dekker netted seven points during a 20-0 Wisconsin run, which Dekker capped with a layup for a 33-10 cushion a little past the midway point of the opening half.

"I didn't like our response to that," Illinois head coach John Groce said of the run.

The Badgers took a 50-25 advantage into the break and cruised to the easy triumph over the final 20 minutes.

Game Notes

Wisconsin shot 56.1 percent (32-of-57) from the floor and turned the ball over just four times ... The Badgers held the Illini to 31.6 percent (25- of-79) from the field.