Halftime Report
After a tough loss on the road their last time out, Illinois looks much better today on their home court. They have jumped out to a quick 39-35 lead against Wisconsin.
If Illinois keeps playing like this, they’ll bump their record up to 7-2 in no time. On the other hand, Wisconsin will have to make due with an 8-3 record unless they turn things around (and fast).
Who’s Playing
Wisconsin Badgers @ Illinois Fighting Illini
Current Records: Wisconsin 8-2, Illinois 6-2
How To Watch
What to Know
Illinois is 8-2 against Wisconsin since January of 2019, and they’ll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. Both will face off in a Big Ten battle at 9:00 p.m. ET at State Farm Center. The timing is sure in the Fighting Illini’s favor as the squad sits on five straight wins at home while the Badgers have been banged up by seven consecutive losses on the road dating back to last season.
Illinois fought the good fight in their overtime contest against Northwestern on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They took a 70-66 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Wildcats. The Fighting Illini didn’t live up to their potential and found themselves falling short of the advantage oddsmakers thought they had coming into the game.
Despite the defeat, Illinois had strong showings from Kasparas Jakucionis, who shot 6-for-10 from beyond the arc and dropped a double-double on 20 points and ten rebounds, and Tomislav Ivisic, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 12 rebounds. Jakucionis’ evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least 22.4 points. Will Riley, on the other hand, was considerably less helpful: he went 0-6 from downtown.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin couldn’t handle Marquette on Saturday and fell 88-74.
The losing side was boosted by Max Klesmit, who went 6 for 11 from beyond the arc en route to 22 points. What’s more, he also posted a 50% field goal percentage, which is the highest he’s posted since back in March.
With the loss, Illinois broke their three-game winning streak and moved their record to 6-2. As for Wisconsin, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-2.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Illinois hasn’t had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 86.2 points per game. However, it’s not like Wisconsin struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 82. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Looking ahead, Illinois is the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by 6.5 points. They might be worth a quick bet since they’ve covered the spread the last nine times they’ve played Wisconsin.
Odds
Illinois is a solid 6.5-point favorite against Wisconsin, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Fighting Illini as a 5.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 154.5 points.
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Series History
Illinois has won 8 out of their last 10 games against Wisconsin.
- Mar 17, 2024 – Illinois 93 vs. Wisconsin 87
- Mar 02, 2024 – Illinois 91 vs. Wisconsin 83
- Jan 28, 2023 – Illinois 61 vs. Wisconsin 51
- Jan 07, 2023 – Illinois 79 vs. Wisconsin 69
- Feb 02, 2022 – Illinois 80 vs. Wisconsin 67
- Feb 27, 2021 – Illinois 74 vs. Wisconsin 69
- Feb 06, 2021 – Illinois 75 vs. Wisconsin 60
- Jan 08, 2020 – Illinois 71 vs. Wisconsin 70
- Feb 18, 2019 – Wisconsin 64 vs. Illinois 58
- Jan 23, 2019 – Wisconsin 72 vs. Illinois 60
