NFL
By: Melo Williams
Wisconsin Badgers (8-4, 16-7) hit the road to visit rival No. 8 Illinois Fighting Illini (11-2, 20-4).
Both teams are looking to get back in the win column after weekend losses.
Wisconsin loss 77-78 to Indiana and Illinois was defeated 85-82 by Michigan State.
Illinois leads the all-time series 119-90 along with a 72-28 home record vs Wisconsin.
Last time out the Badgers defeated the Illini 95-74 last season in Madison on February 18, 2025 snapping a 9-game losing streak to Illinois.
KEYS TO THE GAME FOR WISCONSIN
●Defending Illinois freshman star G Keaton Wagler.
Wagler should draw a lot of the defensive schematic attention from the Badgers.
Wagler can hurt you with his scoring and playmaking. Taking either scoring or playmaking away is important, I believe minimizing Wagler’s playmaking will be the biggest key.
●Defend the 3Pt line heavily
●Offensively F Nolan Winter should be the focal point tonight.
Winter has been very consistent with his play this season and the Badgers pose a winning record when Winter has a great game scoring and recording a double-double.
●Nick Boyd will get his points but I believe 6-8 assists is needed.
●John Blackwell must be John Blackwell.
●Bench and fast break points will be a factor.
●Rebounding, forcing turnovers and points off turnovers
Team Stats Comparisons
WISCONSIN ILLINOIS
83.0 PPG 84.5 PPG
75.2 OPPG 67.9 OPPG
44.9% FG 46.4% FG
34.5% 3FG 35.7% 3FG
78.1% FT 79.1% FT
10.5 ORPG 13.3 ORPG
26.3 DRPG 28.1 DRPG
36.8 RPG 41.4 RPG
15.9 APG 14.7 APG
9.6 TOPG 9.3 TOPG
5.6 SPG 3.6 SPG
3.2 BPG 4.8 BPG
Player Stats Comparisons
WISCONSIN
Nick Boyd 20.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 3.7 APG
John Blackwell 18.5 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 2.3 APG
Nolan Winter 14.3 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 1.7 APG
Andrew Rohde 6.5 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 2.8 APG
Aleksas Bieliauskas 4.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG
Austin Rapp 8.9 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.6 APG
Braeden Carrington 7.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 1.0 APG
ILLINOIS
Keaton Wagler 17.8 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 4.2 APG
Andrej Stojakovic 13.7 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.1 APG
David Mirkovic 12.6 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 2.5 APG
Tomislav Ivisic 10.0 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.5 APG
Zvonimir Ivisic 7.3 PPG 5.2 RPG
Jake Davis 5.3 PPG, 2.0 RPG
Ben Humrichous 5.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG
From February 9, 2010-February 18, 2025, Wisconsin holds a 17-12 record vs Illinois.
The Badgers are 3-2 in the conference on the road, the Illini holds a 5-1 record at home heading into Tuesday’s night Big Ten rival matchup.
___
GAME NOTES
📍State Farm Center
Champaign, IL
⏰ 7PM CST
📺 Peacock
📻 Badger Radio Network
___
Follow @_MeloWilliams on X/IG for complete coverage of Wisconsin and Big Ten men’s basketball.
