Illinois (17-9, 9-7 Big Ten) vs. No.11 Wisconsin (20-5, 10-4 Big Ten)

Date/Time – Tuesday, February 18, 7:30 p.m.

Arena – Kohl Center (17,071)

Television – FS1 (Brandon Gaudin and LaPhonso Ellis)

Radio – Badgers Radio Network (Matt Lepay and Brian Butch), Sirius 85 or 390, stream online on iHeartRadio.

Series – Illinois leads 118-90 (Wisconsin leads 59-43 in Madison),

Last Meeting – Illinois won, 86-80, on Dec.10, 2024, in Champaign, Ill.

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Twitter: @Badger_Blitz

Betting line: Wisconsin - 3.5

Player to Watch: Klesmit has scored double figures in all five of his career meetings with Illinois, averaging 13.6 points shooting 52.4% FG (12-25 3FG). Klesmit's 48 percent three-point percentage against Illinois is the highest for a Badger against the Illini since 2004-05 (min. 20 att.).

Player to watch: Including his game-high 24 points in December's win over Wisconsin, Jakucionis has 10 20-point games this season, setting the Illini all-time record for 20-point games by a freshman. The record was previously held by Cory Bradford who had eight 20-point games as a redshirt freshman in 1998-99.

Wisconsin won 15 straight games in the series from 2011 to 2019, but Illinois has won the last nine meetings.

The Illini are averaging 78.9 ppg during their 9-game win streak. In UW's preceding 15-game win streak, Illinois averaged just 58.7 ppg.

The Badgers have held Illinois to 60 points or fewer in seven of their last eight wins in the series.

Wisconsin is 15-8 against Illinois at the Kohl Center, but Illinois has won four straight games in Madison. The Illini are the first Big Ten team to accomplish that feat. Illinois has not lost at Wisconsin in six years (64-58 setback on Feb. 18, 2019).

Wisconsin has reached 10 wins in conference play for the 21st time in the last 24 seasons, more

than any other Big Ten school. The Badgers have also reached 20 wins for the 20th time in the last 23 seasons.

Wisconsin tallied 94 points in Saturday’s win at No.7 Purdue. It’s the most points Wisconsin has scored in a road win over an AP Top-25 team.

The Badgers shot 61.5 percent from the floor Saturday, the highest by a visiting team at Mackey Arena in at least 2004-05 and UW’s best mark in a road game since at least 1993-94.

Wisconsin leads the Big Ten in three-point field goal percentage (39.1 percent) and three-point field goals per game (11.4) during conference play.

Wisconsin has won 30 of its last 31 games when its holds teams to 70 or fewer points (14-1 this year). During conference play, the Badgers rank fourth in the B1G in scoring defense (70.9 ppg) and 2nd in field goal percentage defense (42.0 percent).

Illinois is 16-1 this season when scoring 80+ points, including 9-0 in Big Ten play. Illinois is averaging 84.3 points, the team’s highest output since 1988-89.

Illinois is 33-25 (.569) in Big Ten road games since the start of the 2019-20 season, the best mark in the league over the last six seasons. The Illini have finished .500 or better on the road in league play in four of the last five seasons.

The Illini rank No. 28 in KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency (97.1), on pace for the program’s fourth top-30 defensive ranking in the last five seasons. Illinois is No. 9 nationally in KenPom’s effective field goal percentage defense (.450), including a No. 7 ranking in 2-point defense (.441).

Illinois ranks second in the Big Ten with a scoring margin of +12.7 points. That is on pace for No. 4 in the Illini record book since 1960 behind 2004-05 (+15.9 ppg), 2022-23 (+13.0) and 1988-89 (+12.8).

Illinois is second nationally in rebounding at 44.3 boards per game, on pace for the program’s best average in 53 seasons, since (48.0 rpg in 1971-72). The Orange and Blue have outrebounded their opponent in 22 of 26 games this season.

The schedule could not have been set up better for Wisconsin.

It might be natural to have an emotional letdown having to play two days after the biggest win of the season, but the next team on the schedule has owned Wisconsin as of late in a way not many teams have over the past 25 years.

Dominance might be too strong of a word to characterize Illinois’ nine-game winning streak over the Badgers considering the average margin of victory for the Illini in those games is 8.2 points. Still, the nine games represent the longest winning streak by one team over Wisconsin since 2001. The Badgers have played well enough to win over the last five years but failed to execute some fundamental principles. That was the case on December 10 in Champaign.

The Badgers’ 86-80 loss was winnable had UW been playing at the level it currently is at.

Offensive rebounding was an issue entering the Big Ten road opener, considering the Badgers gave up 13 offensive rebounds to Michigan and 11 to Marquette in the preceding two games. Illinois only shot 40.4 percent from the field with 37 misses, but the Illini turned 15 offensive rebounds into 16 second-chance points. UW wasn’t physical enough at any position.

As they were two months ago, Illinois remains a strong rebounding team. Not uncommon to send all five players at the glass for a rebound, Illinois ranks first in the NCAA in defensive rebounds per game (30.8), second in total rebounds per game (44.3) and rebound margin (10.7), and 23rd in offensive rebounds per game (13.5).

In the last six games, UW has allowed double-digit offensive rebounds once (Iowa) and more than 10 second-chance points once (Northwestern). The Badgers gave up just four offensive rebounds against Purdue.

“It’s guys getting better and competing a little bit more,” Tonje said. “We’re saying things on film. We know what our weaknesses are and where we are going to get better. We’ve been really focused on that.

“Some teams have an identity for (rebounding). They’ve been known to get extra rebounds. We’re going to try to limit them and keep it at a minimum.”

Season-long areas of strength on offense didn’t appear as such either. The Badgers lead the Big Ten in fewest turnovers per game (9.8) and had 12 in the first meeting, leading to 14 points. UW had three turnovers (zero in the second half) on Saturday. UW went 14-for-21 from the free-throw line, its most misses in a game this season. UW is leading the nation in free-throw shooting at 83.7 percent.

Three of Wisconsin’s starters also didn’t perform. Tonje struggled with his efficiency by going 5-for-15 shooting, Crowl didn’t have a rebound in nearly 19 minutes on the floor, and Blackwell battled foul trouble in 22 minutes. All were guilty of at least one basic principle – Tonje didn’t play off two feet enough, Crowl wasn’t aggressive and didn’t finish shots around the rim, and Blackwell got caught over dribbling and not pushing the tempo.

Besides Blackwell battling first-half foul trouble, all three players have surged in recent weeks.

Tonje has averaged 24.2 ppg since being held scoreless at USC, the second-highest scoring average in the nation. He also has 29 3FGs over that span, the eighth-most in the NCAA. Crowl has scored in double figures eight times in the last 14 games since Illinois and has averaged 10.3 ppg and 5.9 rpg, shooting 61.6 percent (53-86 overall and 12-29 3FGs).

“Steve’s been huge,” Tonje said. “He’s one of the most unselfish guys we got and he’s willing to put it out there every night. He’s been a huge part of our success. He’s going to keep doing Steve things.”

Blackwell is averaging 15.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg, and 1.9 apg during Big Ten play and settled into the point guard role. His assist-to-turnover ratio needs to improve (54 assists to 55 turnovers) and limiting his time on the bench with foul trouble, but Blackwell has done better making sure the tempo doesn’t stagnate.

“We’re playing a little faster in transition, so that gets (the ball) moving right out of the gate,” head coach Greg Gard said. “We don’t want the ball walked up. We want it pushed in transition. Make or miss, it doesn’t matter. That emphasizes and promotes ball movement. It’s important. When we do find ourselves a little sluggish, we got to address it. That usually comes when fatigue sets in.”

While it’s evident Wisconsin has improved, Illinois has started to skid. For all its strengths on offense and rebounding, the Illini are 5-6 in their last 11 games. Illinois led Michigan State, 67-66, with 6:45 left and lost 79-65. That’s not a typo. Illinois lost a basket off a goaltending review and the Spartans closed the game on a 13-0 run. Illinois scored no points in the final 8:29.

Illinois’s 31.1 percent three-point percentage ranks 308 out of 364 teams, and the Illini went 0-for-13 over the final 10 minutes. Jakucionis missed all five of his second-half three-point shots and was 0-for-7 from the floor after halftime. Humrichous shot 3-of-10 from the field and 0-of-6 from three-point range in 31 minutes. Boswell had 19 against Wisconsin but is 2-of-9 from the field and has a total of 15 points in 86 minutes over the last three games.

Tre White was the X-factor in the first meeting with 23 points and eight rebounds but has played a combined 14 minutes in the last five games. With forward Montez Johnson Jr. (6.6 rpg) unavailable with a broken wrist, head coach Brad Underwood said on Monday that White will play.

Gard said Wisconsin is better overall on both ends of the floor and is anxious/excited to see his team's growth between tonight and the first meeting. I believe he’ll leave the Kohl Center feeling pleased.

Worgull’s Prediction: Wisconsin by 9

Record: 20-5 (19-6 ATS)

Points off Prediction: 196 (7.8 per game)

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