Wisconsin (12-6, 3-3) vs. Illinois (5-13, 1-6)
Game: Jan. 23, 2019 at the State Farm Center (Champaign, Ill.)
Time: 8:00 PM CT (Saturday)
Watch: BTN
Listen: Badger Radio Network (Matt Lepay and Mike Lucas)
Follow Online: The Badgers' Den
Twitter: @Badger_Blitz, @McNamaraRivals, @JohnVeldhuis and @tamiramadsen
Pre-Game Notes
-- (No. 93) Illinois ranks No. 93 out of 353 Division 1 college basketball teams according to KenPom.com. That puts them No. 13 out of the 14 teams in the Big Ten in the efficiency rankings - the Fighting Illini are only ahead of Rutgers (No. 108) compared to the rest of the conference.
-- (9.8) The Fighting Illini are 1-6 against Big Ten teams this year, with an average margin of defeat of 9.8 points in those six losses. That includes a 24-point loss to Iowa in their last time out against Iowa on Sunday.
-- (27) Illinois' lone win against a Big Ten team came against Minnesota last week on Jan. 16 - a 95-68 win for the Illini in a game where they shot 56.1 percent from the floor and ran up a 51-28 edge in the first half.
-- (43.3%) That was quite a step up for the Illini, because as a team this year they are shooting just 43.3 percent from the floor - 35.1 percent from behind the 3-point line, but just 48.5 percent on shots inside the 3-point line.
-- (69.3%) Neither Wisconsin nor Illinois has done a great job from the free-throw line this season. Illinois is shooting just 69.3 percent from the charity stripe, while the Badgers are shooting 66.5 percent from the line.
___________________________________________________
John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.
