Fresh off a 78-77 overtime loss to the Indiana Hoosiers, the Wisconsin Badgers are taking on the No. 8 Illinois Fighting Illini on Tuesday, looking to get their second marquee win of the season.
Wisconsin got its first Quad 1 victory in impressive fashion last month, upsetting the Michigan Wolverines 91-88 on the road with an excellent second half. But they haven’t gotten any other Quad 1 wins this season, going 1-5 in those opportunities.
Now, they face the No. 8 team in the country that has gone
20-4 this season, including 11-2 in Big Ten play. Illinois is coming off a week where they blew out Northwestern by 40 before losing by three in a tight contest against the Michigan State Spartans in East Lansing.
Prior to that, the Fighting Illini were one of the hottest teams in the country, winning 11 straight games, including ones on the road over the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Purdue Boilermakers, and Iowa Hawkeyes. They also recorded non-conference wins over the Tennessee Volunteers and Texas Tech Red Raiders earlier in the season.
Illinois has quite the team this season, with sensational freshman Keaton Wagler leading the charge. He’s averaging 17.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game this season, while shooting 43.3 percent from three-point range. Wagler had his biggest game under the brightest lights, scoring 46 points at the Mackey Arena to help Illinois beat Purdue by six on the road.
Behind him, though, there’s experience and a number of European players who have fit in well for head coach Brad Underwood. Illinois is the No. 1 team in KenPom offensive efficiency, while they’ve also been top-25 in defensive efficiency this year. But it’s been a much different style of play for the Fighting Illini, who have always been known for their offense under Underwood. Illinois ranks 270th in tempo after ranking 17th last year, but they’ve been even more efficient.
So the Badgers will have quite the challenge ahead of them tonight. How can you watch the game?
Date: Tuesday, February 10th
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Arena: State Farm Center
Channel: Peacock
Spread: Illinois -10.5
Over/Under: 153.5 points
