It’s not exactly a state law. You don’t have to win at Wisconsin to have a good season.
Illinois’ all-time leading scorer, Deon Thomas, never played on a team that won in Madison and wound up with 2,129 career points. Kiwane Garris, who ranks second to Thomas with 1,948 points, also went 0-4 in the Badger State.
Lou Henson’s 1988-89 Illinois team got drilled by Wisconsin 72-52 at the old Wisconsin Field House and still made it to the Final Four.
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And last year Illinois earned a share of the Big Ten title and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight and didn’t defeat Wisconsin on its home floor. Of course the Illini didn’t play the Badgers on their home court, so that might have had something to do with it.
Saturday, second-year head coach Bill Self will get his first taste of Wisconsin at the Kohl Center, where the Badgers are 4-1 this season, including upsets of then-No. 14 Marquette and Tennessee.
Illinois has lost nine of its last 10 in Madison. The lone victory was 53-47 in overtime by Lon Kruger’s all-senior 1997-98 Big Ten co-champs.
Does that worry Self? Oh, maybe just a little.
“It’s a tough place to play, from what everyone tells me,” said Self. “We just have to go up there with the same kind of mind-set we had in St. Louis (where Illinois beat Missouri). In other words, tough and hard-nosed. Last year we went 5-3 on the road in the Big Ten. Any time you have a winning road record in the Big Ten you’re probably a pretty good team.”
Technically, Wisconsin will be only the second true road game–on the opponent’s home court–of the year for Illinois. The first was the 76-63 loss to Maryland at Cole Field House. Three neutral-court victories in Las Vegas, one in Chicago over Arkansas and the one in St. Louis account for five of the Illini’s 12 victories. Illinois (12-2) lost to Arizona in Phoenix and is 7-0 at home.
An Illinois victory, however, seems possible for the first time in a while. Iowa ended Wisconsin’s four-game winning streak Wednesday night by dominating the Badgers (7-7) on the boards and by holding them to 35.7 percent from the floor. “I forgot to tell them to make some shots,” new head coach Bo Ryan said jokingly about their third-worst shooting performance of the season.
The Illini will do well if they follow the Hawkeyes’ example. Under Ryan, Wisconsin is a slightly better shooting team than it was under Dick Bennett and interim coach Brad Soderberg, but the Badgers’ bread and butter–defense–has slipped. This year’s team is giving up 66.4 points a game, 10 more than last year’s Big Ten leaders.
Illinois’ primary goals will be containing 6-foot-5-inch senior Kirk Penney, who is averaging 15.2 points, and forcing Ryan’s youngsters to make mistakes.
Illini point guard Frank Williams is expected to be at full strength after struggling against Minnesota, scoring eight points while still in some pain from having an abscessed tooth removed.
“Frank is sometimes difficult to read on some things,” said Self. “But I think he’ll be fine.”
The only thing that will make Self feel fine is defeating Wisconsin. Illinois still could win the Big Ten title, but losing in Madison in January isn’t the best way to start.