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GAME 25

UI men at Wisconsin,

6 p.m. Tuesday

LINEUPS

ILLINOIS (16-8 overall, 8-3 Big Ten)

Probable starters

P Name HT. YR. PPG

G Demetri McCamey 6-3 Jr. 15.4

G D.J. Richardson 6-3 Fr. 11.2

F Bill Cole 6-9 Jr. 3.9

F Mike Davis 6-9 Jr. 10.7

C Mike Tisdale 7-1 Jr. 11.7

Top reserves

G Brandon Paul 6-3 Fr. 8.6

F Tyler Griffey 6-9 Fr. 3.4

F Dominique Keller 6-7 Sr. 5.8

WISCONSIN (18-5, 8-3)

Probable starters

P Name HT. YR. PPG

G Trevon Hughes 6-0 Sr. 15.5

G Jason Bohannon 6-2 Sr. 11.1

G Jordan Taylor 6-1 So. 10.0

F Keaton Nankivil 6-8 Jr. 8.8

F Tim Jarmusz 6-6 Jr. 2.8

Top reserves

G Ryan Evans 6-6 Fr. 10.2

G Rob Wilson 6-3 So. 2.0

F Mike Bruesewitz 6-6 Fr. 1.0

FACTS & FIGURES

Site: Kohl Center (17,142), Madison, Wisc.

Radio: Brian Barnhart and Jerry Hester call the action on WDWS 1400-AM, WHMS 97.5-FM, WDAN 1490-AM, WDNL 102.1-FM and WPXN 104.9-FM.

TV: Big Ten Network. Dave Revsine is on play-by-play duties, and Jim Jackson provides the expert analysis.

Series: Illinois leads 107-74. Bo Ryan's success at the Kohl Center is well-known. The Badgers are 132-10 at the arena under Ryan and have won 18 straight home games. The Illini are 2-14 in their last 16 trips to Madison. Wisconsin has owned Illinois of late, winning six of their last seven meetings. As the coach at Illinois, Bruce Weber has a losing record against only two Big Ten teams – Michigan State (6-7) and Wisconsin (6-8).

Coaches: Weber (168-65 in seventh season at Illinois, 271-119 in 12th season overall); Ryan (210-78 in ninth season at Wisconsin and 241-105 in 11th season overall).

Paul Klee's Storylines

Brandon's bench boost

Illinois is hoping Brandon Paul flipped the switch after the freshman busted out in the second half of Saturday's win against Michigan State. Paul scored eight points – all after intermission – and used his athleticism to equalize that of the Spartans' veteran wings. "He can really help our team by doing the other things (besides scoring)," Bruce Weber said. "He was doing those other things early in the season; the play-hard chart, the Matto chart, the putbacks, the steals, the taking charges." The coach said he would like to increase Paul's playing time, provided he continues to make a positive impact. Paul and Bill Cole have been splitting time at the small forward or third guard spot. "Billy, just because of his body and the number of minutes we've played him, he's worn down," Weber said.

Wisconsin wonders

When forward Jon Leuer sustained a wrist injury in mid-January, you figured Wisconsin was in for a slide. But the Badgers don't appear to have skipped a beat, with consecutive 18-point wins at Michigan and at home against Michigan State in their last two games. "They're probably playing as well as anybody in the league," Weber said. "They're shooting the ball as well as anybody in the country." Illinois knows all about sharpshooter Jason Bohannon, having watched the senior hit six three-pointers in the Illini's trip to the Kohl Center last season. Wisconsin is 11-1 this season when Bohannon makes two or more three-pointers. The absence of Leuer – he's out indefinitely – forced the Badgers into a "small ball" lineup with three guards, Weber said. "I think their older guys are playing the best of their careers," he added.

Regaining their focus

In the afterglow of the upset of then-No. 5 Michigan State, "I let them enjoy it," Weber said. "But now you've got to come back and get refocused and see if you can find a way to do something that's very rare and that's win up in Madison." Rare is an understatement. Under Bo Ryan, the Badgers are 66-5 against Big Ten competition at the Kohl Center. But it's not like Wisconsin's success is limited to the Kohl Center. Since 2001-02, Wisconsin has the Big Ten's best conference record (102-94), slightly ahead of Michigan State (97-46) and Illinois (94-49). "It's the players, it's the team, it's how competitive they've made themselves," Ryan said. "I think the home record gets a lot of attention, obviously, because of the numbers. But the guys have played pretty well together, year-in and year-out."

Prediction

Wisconsin 70, Illinois 66

After Wisconsin upset Duke in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, the Grateful Red and its fellow students rushed the court to celebrate the Challenge-clinching triumph. "Our student section is very important to your program because it represents the student body," Ryan said Monday. After Illinois upset Michigan State on Saturday, the Orange Krush hosted a delirious mosh pit at center court. "I was just amazed at how they arrived at 7:30 in the morning and kept the hype until the (game) closed," Weber said. We disagree with Dick Vitale on this one. Given the stage – ESPN College GameDay, a top-five opponent, close game, etc. – the victory was plenty court storming-worthy. The News-Gazette prediction record is considering a court storm, too. Like the Illini, our crystal ball took a while to find its identity. But we're on a roll, baby! The News-Gazette prediction record is undefeated in the Big Ten (11-0) and looking like a tournament team. Which means only one thing, of course: our prediction that Wisconsin will improve to 14-0 at home is bound to be wrong. The bigger question: Will UW/UI fan and world No. 2 Steve Stricker be in attendance? (News-Gazette prediction record: 18-5).