With No. 4 Purdue basking in the national spotlight, No. 17 Wisconsin is not getting the attention a 12-2 team deserves. Undefeated in Big Ten play, the Badgers have put together an impressive start to the season. They fared well in nonconference play, winning 10 out of 12 games with victories over then-No. 6 Duke and then-No. 21 Maryland.
The only two stumbles for Wisconsin were a 13-point loss to No. 19 Gonzaga and a surprising four-point defeat at Wisconsin-Green Bay.
Since falling to the Phoenix, the Badgers have won six in a row, including their first two Big Ten games. Wisconsin blew out then-No. 15 Ohio State 65-43 on New Year’s Eve before winning 63-46 at Penn State last Sunday.
Neither the Buckeyes nor the Nittany Lions were able to get anything done offensively against the Badgers. Wisconsin held Ohio State to 32.6 percent shooting and Penn State to 35.4 percent shooting.
“Sometimes teams just have a rough night putting the ball in the basket,” Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. “Sometimes we get out of a rhythm, sometimes other teams get out of a rhythm. I don’t think we did anything different.”
Regardless of the reason for their success, the Badgers will need to keep up the strong defensive effort when they take on No. 10 Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich., Wednesday and host No. 4 Purdue on Saturday afternoon.
“Whoever the opponent is, whether it’s high scoring teams or not, it’s still points per possession we concentrate on,” Ryan said. “If it’s an up-tempo game, medium-tempo, or low-tempo, it’s still about the possession. That’s how we always practice, and that’s how we’ve got to play.”
With both the Michigan State and Purdue games slated for national television, Wisconsin has a prime opportunity to emerge from under the radar.
Illini baffled by slow start
While Wisconsin has been climbing the conference rankings, Illinois has struggled with three losses in its last five games. In their last defeat before a victory over Iowa, the Fighting Illini trailed No. 19 Gonzaga by 21 in the first half but battled their way back to force overtime. In the extra session, Illinois (9-5, 1-0 Big Ten) took a three-point lead with less than two minutes to go, but Gonzaga fought back and ultimately won 85-83.
The near-comeback against the Bulldogs came just more than one month after the Fighting Illini rallied from a 23-point second-half deficit to pick up a 76-74 win at then-No. 18 Clemson.
“We have to figure out why we have slow starts,” Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. “That’s the first thing, and then learning to finish games, and making plays and who to get the ball to. That’s been a dilemma for us, no doubt.”
Illinois visits Indiana on Saturday night. The Hoosiers remain without Maurice Creek, the freshman sensation who was injured in a 90-42 win over Bryant. In its first game without Creek, Indiana beat Michigan behind a career night from Verdell Jones III, who filled the stat line with 20 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals. This will be the third time Jones III, a native of Champaign, Ill., who was passed over by Illinois, gets to face the Fighting Illini.
“Verdell is a great kid,” Weber said. “We know his family well. He’s around our program quite a bit. We had a backlog of point guards at the time. He ended up picking a school where he had the opportunity to play, and he’s taking advantage of it. I’m sure it will be an emotional game.”[email protected]
