Round One in the Big Ten heavyweight championship fight takes place Tuesday night, when Illinois brings their No. 1 ranking and undefeated record into Madison to face No. 18 Wisconsin.
But the Fighting Illini (5-0 Big Ten, 19-0 overall) face an equally daunting task: Defeat the Badgers (4-1, 13-3) in the hostile confines of the Kohl Center, something no visiting team has done in 38 consecutive tries. But forget No. 1 rankings and win streaks, the Badgers and senior forward Mike Wilkinson can not wait to show a national audience what this Wisconsin team is all about.
\As a player, as a competitor, I think you always want to face the best, the really good competition,"" he said. ""That's what [the Illini] are. You get a chance to see how good you are or how good you can be, not only individually but as a team. I think this next game will show a lot about what we have a chance to be and what we can become.""
Hopefully for the Badgers, a win over the top-ranked team in the land will propel Wisconsin to a Big Ten championship. Following a thrilling comeback victory over Michigan State Jan. 16 in Madison and an impressive win over Michigan in Ann Arbor Jan. 22, the Badgers are tied for second in the conference and the Illinois game could tilt the early favor to who ever emerges victorious. But Illinois will be no pushover and as senior guard Clayton Hanson admits, ""we'll have our hands full.""
There is no question what makes this Illinois team go. Three seasoned and potent guards, juniors Deron Williams and Dee Brown complemented by athletic senior swingman Luther Head, have been the driving force behind the Illini's red-hot start. Head leads the team in scoring, averaging 16.8 points per game, with Brown and Williams chipping in 13.3 and 12.9 ppg, respectively. The slashing, penetrating styles of all three guards open up the perimeter for Illinois, which is third in the Big Ten in three-point shot percentage (.393).
The biggest challenge for the Badgers perimeter defenders, namely Hanson, senior guard Sharif Chambliss and sophomore guard Kammron Taylor, will be to contain the lllini's trio of dangerous guards.
""Individually, they're tremendous players, but I think collectively they complement each other so well,"" Hanson said. ""That makes them even tougher to guard. We've just got to stick to our rules defensively ... pinch and rotate like we need to.""
Wisconsin does lead the Big Ten in scoring defense, allowing 59.5 points per game. But the Illini have shot the lights out, hitting 49.7 percent of their field goals, second in conference to only Michigan State. Illinois did have their worst outing last week when they shot an abysmal 32.8 percent from the floor coupled with 18 turnovers in a home overtime win against No. 23 Iowa. The Hawkeyes controlled the tempo for most of the game, something the Badgers will need to do.
""If we stick to our rules on defense and have our guys back, defensively, I think that should hopefully take care of itself,"" Hanson said. ""But, don't get me wrong, they're definitely capable of getting out and scoring a lot of points in transition.""
Wisconsin, and more specifically Wilkinson, has been rolling since the final three minutes of the Michigan State victory. Wilkinson earned his second straight Big Ten Player of the Week award and has averaged 23 points and 10.6 rebounds in the past three games. With Tucker limited by a foot injury, Wilkinson's role as the go-to-guy must continue against Illinois.
Illinois head coach Bruce Weber went as far as to imply that the Illini are the marked underdog in this game. But to Wilkinson and the rest of the Badgers it is just another conference game against another tough conference foe.
""It's hard to be considered an underdog when you haven't lost a game yet in the year and you're playing the way Illinois has and you've got the talent and ability they have,"" Wilkinson said. ""They've just been playing great and I don't know how you can call yourself an underdog, but it will be a lot of fun and real competitive and it should be a really good game.""
