Can the Badgers snap their two-game losing streak against a tough opponent?
After two consecutive losses to Michigan and Marquette, the 20th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers travel to the State Farm Center for their first Big Ten road game against the Illinois Fighting Illini. Tip-off is at 8:00 p.m. CT, and Illinois is a 6.5-point favorite.
Despite a two-point halftime lead at Fiserv Forum, the Badgers were dominated in the second half and lost 88-74. Overall, Wisconsin played sloppy, with 16 turnovers compared to Marquette’s five.
What should Wisconsin fans know about Illinois?
Opponent Preview
The Fighting Illini are 6-2 this season with a win over then-no. 19 Arkansas in Kansas City. However, Brad Underwood’s team suffered an upset loss at Northwestern 70-66 in overtime, which dropped them out of the Associated Press Top-25 rankings.
Once again, the Badgers are tasked with stopping another outstanding guard in Kasparas Jakucionis. The 6’ 6’’ Lithuanian guard leads the Illini with 6.1 assists per game, good for 15th in the nation, and 1.5 steals per game. Jakucionis’ playmaking ability has drawn interest from NBA teams and is considered a top-10 NBA Draft pick by Bleacher Report and CBS Sports.
Champaign native and Arizona transfer guard Kylan Boswell has started all eight games for the Illini, but he is off to a tough season shooting the ball. Boswell is 36% from the field and is 7-of-34 from the three-point range.
In the frontcourt, sophomore center Tomislav Ivisic is the leading scorer (16.1 points per game) and rebounder (9.3 rebounds per game) for Illinois, and he is in the top 20 in college basketball with five double-doubles this season. Ivisic can stretch the floor by providing three-point shooting, having hit 6-of-9 three-pointers in the Illini’s win over Arkansas. Speaking of the three-ball, Evansville transfer Ben Humrichous has the most three-pointers made this season with 19 but is coming off a 1-for-9 three-point shooting game against Northwestern.
One name to note is freshman forward Will Riley, the second-leading scorer on the Illini with 15 points per game. Riley began the season by scoring 31 points in Illinois’ first win against Eastern Illinois. He has scored 10+ points off the bench in six of the Illini’s eight games.
Score Prediction
After winning fifteen in a row against Illinois, Wisconsin has lost its last eight matchups against the Fighting Illini. Brad Underwood’s team has proven to be a bad matchup time and time again for Wisconsin. Someday, the Badgers will break through against the Illini, but Jakucionis and Ivisic will make enough plays to defeat Wisconsin.
Prediction: Illinois 89-78.