Wisconsin (16-10, 8-5)
All time: 110-83 (last: Illinois 55, Wisconsin 63, 1/31/16 in Champaign)
Tip-off: Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network
You can’t talk about Illini basketball right now without talking about Leron Black. He did a dumb thing, as young kids do from time-to-time, and got himself arrested early Friday morning. There are some details out there already, and more to come, but his guilt or innocence and status within the Illinois program are not questions any writer is poised to address, nor will they have an effect on the outcome of the Wisconsin game.
What can be addressed, and will have an effect on the next game, is how this affects team morale. Even though Black has been injured most of the season, he was the best cheerleader for this team, bar none. Quick with a smile and always dancing to celebrate his teammates, even in losses, having him around was probably good for the other players. Obviously, he won’t be around, and while his absence could be a motivator for the Illini, that doesn’t seem likely based on the on-court product thus far.
Illinois played Wisconsin fairly close last time out, but didn’t have the extra oomph to get it done. Now, that little bit extra is almost certainly gone, and Wisconsin is looking awfully good again. The Badgers have just one loss in their last 8, to #8 Michigan State, including a convincing win over then #2 Maryland. Both Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig have continued their quiet but consistently stellar play and Vitto Brown has come on strong lately, giving the stars the support they need.
Likely starting lineups
Illinois: Khalid Lewis, guard; Jalen Coleman-Lands, guard; Kendrick Nunn, guard; Malcolm Hill, guard; Maverick Morgan, center
Wisconsin: Bronson Koenig, guard; Zak Showalter, guard; Nigel Hayes, forward; Ethan Happ, forward, Vitto Brown, forward
Gut feeling
The Black news just kind of gut-punched the Illini fanbase right as things were looking up. Now, it feels like the team is primed for another blowout along the lines of the Indiana game earlier this season. Wisconsin, like Indiana then, was unranked but rising; Illinois, meanwhile, still trending down. Watch at your own peril.