Wisconsin Badgers vs. Illinois Fighting Illini Pick & Prediction DECEMBER 10th 2024

Preview and Prediction

Although it is only mid-December, both No. 20 Wisconsin and previously-ranked Illinois will undoubtedly feel the pressure to bounce back from a disappointing week and return to the win column in their matchup on Tuesday night in Champaign, Ill.

The Badgers (8-2, 0-1 Big Ten) suffered a loss in their conference opener against Michigan last Tuesday and then fell to No. 5 Marquette 88-74 on Saturday in Milwaukee.

"We cannot afford to dwell on our losses," said Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard.

The Badgers held a 45-42 lead over the Golden Eagles early in the second half, but Marquette's aggressive defense caused Wisconsin to commit seven turnovers in just nine minutes. This ultimately led to a 25-10 run by Marquette and a double-digit deficit that the Badgers could not overcome.

"I am certain that the majority of our turnovers were self-inflicted," Gard admitted. "We need to work on playing with both feet on the ground. It will help us finish better, draw more fouls, and make better decisions because we won't get caught in the air with the ball."

Fortunately for Gard, Illinois' defensive style is vastly different from Marquette's.

According to KenPom.com, the Illini rank last in the Big Ten in forcing turnovers, but they lead the nation in effective field-goal percentage defense (40.6 percent) and only allow opponents to shoot 25.1 percent from beyond the arc.

Illinois' strategy is to force teams to take shots inside the arc rather than from the 3-point line.

However, in their recent game against Northwestern, the Illini's defensive strategy backfired as the Wildcats were able to find success in the mid-range. Northwestern overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half to defeat then-No. 19 Illinois 70-66 in overtime, knocking them out of the rankings.

Wisconsin's John Tonje (21.5 points per game) and John Blackwell (15.2) are both skilled at breaking down defenses with their dribble penetration. Illinois head coach Brad Underwood would prefer to see them take more shots inside the arc, but he also doesn't want to see his team struggle on the offensive glass.

Against Northwestern, the Illini only grabbed seven offensive rebounds despite missing 42 shots. This is concerning for a team that prides itself on offensive rebounding. Underwood acknowledges that this is an area that his team needs to improve on, especially with their strong 3-point shooting.

"I have not been as tough on my players in practice as I should be," Underwood admitted. "We need to focus on this and work on it in practice. Last year, we were one of the top teams in the country in rebounding missed 3-pointers. We track and analyze this statistic. However, in our win against Arkansas on Thanksgiving, we became too reliant on it. We need to find players who are tough enough to want to go for offensive rebounds."

Underwood is not referring to Kasparas Jakucionis or Tomislav Ivisic in his comments. Jakucionis made six 3-pointers in the final 18 minutes against Northwestern, while Ivisic recorded 12 rebounds, three of which were on the offensive end.

Ivisic has been a consistent performer for the Illini, averaging 15.4 points and 9.4 rebounds in the last five games, with four double-doubles on the season.

PREDICTION

Wisconsin Badgers

Illinois Fighting Illini

Wisconsin Badgers vs. Illinois Fighting Illini Recap DEC 10TH 2024

Freshman Kasparas Jakucionis posted a career-high 24 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists and Tre White added a season-high 23 points as Illinois earned an 86-80 victory over No. 20 Wisconsin on Tuesday night in Champaign, Ill.

Kylan Boswell chipped in 19 points and six assists for the Fighting Illini (7-2, 1-1 Big Ten), who outrebounded the Badgers 40-29 and made 22 of 25 free throws.

Nolan Winter produced a career-high-tying 15 points and hauled in seven rebounds for Wisconsin (8-3, 0-2), which lost its third game in a row. John Tonje netted 14 points, while Max Klesmit contributed 13 and John Blackwell scored 10 before fouling out.

The Illini came out determined to fire away from long range but had limited success from deep, as they canned just three of their first 15 3-point attempts. Meanwhile, Wisconsin led for a good portion of the first half by probing the paint and moving the ball around to get layups.

Klesmit hit a 3-pointer, sank a jumper and drove the lane to feed Carter Gilmore for a wraparound layup to help the Badgers to a 25-21 edge. Wisconsin then went silent for more than five minutes as Illinois rattled off seven unanswered points to go up 28-25 with 5:05 left in the first half.

White converted a three-point play and knocked down a trey in the final 2:22 of the period to send the Fighting Illini into the break with a 39-35 edge.

Winter sparked Wisconsin at the outset of the second half, drilling a 3-pointer, making good on a layup and cashing in on a three-point play to put the Badgers ahead 47-46 with 16:32 to play.

Illinois answered with a 13-2 outburst, with Jakucionis and Boswell accounting for all but one of the Illini's points during the charge, which gave the hosts a 59-49 cushion.

Wisconsin got within four on multiple occasions down the stretch, but it failed to get any closer.