No. 20 Wisconsin (8-2, 0-1 Big Ten) vs. Illinois (6-2, 0-1 Big Ten)

Date/Time – Tuesday, December 10th, 8 p.m

Arena – State Farm Center (15,544)

Regard – Peacock (Noah Eagle, Robbie Hummel)

Radio – Badgers Radio Network (Matt Lepay and Brian Butch), Sirius 85, stream online on iHeartRadio.

Series – Illinois leads 117-90 (Illinois leads 70-28 in Champaign)

Last meeting – Illinois won 93-87 in Minneapolis on March 17, 2024

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Twitter: @Badger_Blitz

Betting line: Illinois -6.5

Player to Watch: Klesmit has scored in double figures in his four career meetings with Illinois, averaging 13.8 points while shooting 52.8 percent from the field (10-20 3FG).

Player to Watch: Ivisic scored in double figures in every game and recorded his third straight double-double in Illinois’ 70-66 loss to Northwestern on Friday. He scored 15 points with 12 rebounds, five assists and a block. His five double-doubles this season ranked him fourth in the nation.

Illinois has won eight straight games against UW, its longest streak since 16 straight wins from February 1981 to January 1989.

After Illinois, Wisconsin’s second-longest losing streak against a Big Ten team is against Michigan (three games).

Prior to Illinois’ current 8-game winning streak, the Badgers had won 15 straight games in the series from 2011 to 2019. This was the longest winning streak ever against the Illini.

The Badgers and Illini met twice last season. Illinois picked up a 91-83 win in Madison during the regular season and then earned a 93-87 victory over UW in the Big Ten Tournament championship game in Minneapolis.

Wisconsin hasn’t started 0-2 in the Big Ten since the 2002-03 season. The Badgers won 12 of their last 14 conference games to claim the final conference title that season.

The Badgers are on a seven-game road losing streak. UW has lost six straight Big Ten road games. The Badgers’ last road win was a 61-59 victory at Minnesota on January 23rd.

Wisconsin has limited opponents to 29.4 percent from 3-point range this season. Only two of UW’s last eight opponents have shot 30 percent or better from deep. Illinois shoots 33.9 percent from three.

Three different Badgers have scored more than 25 points this season: Tonje (41 points against ARIZ, 33 points against Pitt), Blackwell (30 points against UTRGV) and Klesmit (26 points against Montana State).

Wisconsin takes (26.2 3FGA) and makes (9.1 3FG) more 3-point shots than ever before. That’s the highest UW average in both categories since the 3-point line was introduced in 1986-87.

In the Nov. 18 and Dec. 2 polls, Illinois was ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 for two weeks this season. The Illini are receiving votes in the latest rankings released Monday.

Illinois is ranked No. 12 in the NCAA NET rankings based on games played Dec. 8. The Illini are in first place in the Big Ten.

The Illini are ranked third nationally with a points advantage of +23.8. Illinois’ 13-point win over No. 19 Arkansas was the most by an unranked Illinois team against a top-25 opponent under head coach Brad Underwood.

Illinois leads the Big Ten and is among the NCAA leaders in: 3-point attempts per game (4th in NCAA, 33.9), 3-point shots per game (6th, 11.5). ), Total rebounds per game (1st, 47.4), Defensive rebounds per game (1st, 34.0), Rebound margin (2nd, +13.4), 3-point defense percentage (4th; .251) and field goal percentage defense (7th; .366).

The Fighting Illini’s scoring average of 86.3 ppg is the team’s highest since 1988-89.

When these two teams played in March, AJ Storr scored a team-high 24 points and Chucky Hepburn Wisconsin added 20 points, but the Badgers couldn’t overcome an Illinois offense featuring Terrence Shannon (34 points) and Marcus Domask (20). None of these players will appear in Central Illinois tonight.

The Badgers and Illini have revamped their rosters in different ways. UW has brought in some new pieces but will rely on returning players to work in other roles or take on big responsibilities. Illinois underwent a complete overhaul. The Illini returned just one rotation player, last year’s ninth-leading scorer Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, and returned 2.9 percent of their minutes, 2.2 percent of their points and 2.0 percent of their rebounds to start the year.

Freshmen on the Illini roster have accounted for 92 percent of the team’s points (635 of 690 total points), while freshmen scored 43.9 percent of those points (279). Most of the freshmen’s goals came from Jakucionis and forward Will Riley. Jakucionis has scored 20-plus points in three straight games, becoming the first Illini rookie to do so in program history, while Riley recorded six double-digit scoring games off the bench. Although Ivisic isn’t technically a freshman due to an eligibility issue, he could be Illinois’ best newcomer with five double-doubles this season.

With all the new faces, Illinois is rated 28th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 17th in adjusted defensive efficiency by Kenpom.com, the only Big Ten program rated in the top 30 in both categories.

One of the most important areas to watch is the battle on the border. Illinois ranks fourth nationally in three-point percentage defense (25.1 percent) and 353rd nationally in team percentage from two (40.6 percent). Wisconsin’s ability to prevent teams from getting too hot from beyond the arc has been crucial so far and will have to survive against a team that makes 11.5 three-pointers per game.

Analyzes predict that Illinois will win this game over 70 percent of the time. I see more scenarios where Wisconsin loses this game than wins, especially because the interior defense has been out of sync in the last two games against a big frontcourt and a faster backcourt. A competitive game will be beneficial for Illinois.

Worgull’s prediction: Illinois at six.

Record: 7-3 (7-3 ATS)

Points deduction forecast: 100 (10.0 per game)

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