Fans of the Wisconsin Badgers can look across the way at the Illinois Fighting Illini on Wednesday night in the Kohl Center and see a familiar story. Illinois inhabits the world Wisconsin lived in a few weeks ago. This is a less complicated point than one might first think.
Very simply, Illinois is currently locked in a rut where the Illini play great basketball at home but simply can’t find a way to break through on the road. Over a full month, Illinois has had the Jekyll-and-Hyde identity Wisconsin displayed in its first month of play this season. The Badgers have seemingly broken their spell by winning in Tennessee on Dec. 28 and then beating Ohio State in Columbus this past Friday. Part of what makes this Illinois-Wisconsin game so interesting is that the Illini are trying to make a Wisconsin-like transformation… and that they need to beat the Badgers in order to achieve it.
On December 7, Illinois almost beat Maryland on the road, but their offense withered on the vine in the second half. They blew a 14-point halftime lead and lost by one. Illinois’ offense didn’t suffer a similar meltdown at home against Michigan on Dec. 11, winning 71-62 against an opponent which had recently risen in the national rankings after winning the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Illinois, following that mid-December win over Michigan, won its next three home games by 14 points or more, including a 26-point thrashing of Purdue this past Sunday. However, the Illini have not been able to carry that level of play to other gymnasiums, especially on offense. Illinois scored 56 points in losses to Missouri and Michigan State. The Illini have not scored more than 58 points in any game played away from Champaign since Nov. 10 in Tucson against the University of Arizona… and they lost by 21 on that night two months ago.
Wisconsin hopes it has permanently gotten past the home-road problem. Illinois is immersed in it right now.
Brad Underwood might ask Greg Gard before Wednesday’s game how he halted the Badgers’ most troubling trend. Don’t expect Gard to offer any advice. Underwood is on his own in the attempt to figure out how the Illini can evolve.