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Illinois Basketball: 4 keys for the Illini to beat the Wisconsin Badgers

By Rees Woodcock

Feb 2, 2021; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; IIllinois Fighting Illini guard Trent Frazier (1) bumps fists with coaches after defeating the Indiana Hoosiers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 2, 2021; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; IIllinois Fighting Illini guard Trent Frazier (1) bumps fists with coaches after defeating the Indiana Hoosiers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports /
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Illinois basketball
Jan 10, 2021; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Adam Miller (44) celebrates his three point shot next to center Kofi Cockburn (21) during the first half against the Maryland Terrapins at the State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports /

Another big game is upon us as the Illinois basketball team takes on the Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday.

The Badgers are a good, efficient, program that can take down just about any team in the country. But, thankfully, the Illini are finding ways to win and are coming in having won three in a row. Can they make it four in a row with a win over Wisconsin? Illinois needs to do a few things to secure the dub.

Here are four keys for the Illini to beat the Wisconsin Badgers.

1. Perimeter defense needs to be strong

Illinois is going up against an extremely tough Wisconsin team on Saturday.  A victory will not be easy to come by especially considering how talented the Badgers are from the perimeter.

Wisconsin gets 25.5-percent of their points from the three-point shot, which ranks No. 66 in the nation. That means over a quarter of their points are coming from long range. They are hitting their three-point shots at a clip of 37.6-percent as well. This number ranks No. 36 in the nation.

The two lead guards, D’Mitrik Trice and Brad Davison, are the main culprits for the Badgers’ three-point shooting. They are both attempting about five three-pointers per game and hitting them at a clip of 38.5-percent for Davison and 38.9-percent for Trice.

Illinois’ perimeter defense is going to need to be on-point if they don’t want to get shot out of the building on Saturday. I am most worried about Adam Miller. His defense has slacked the last couple of games. Lazy closeouts and going under screens is what the Illini can’t afford to do against Wisconsin.

If the Illini can manage to play aggressively on the perimeter and hold the Badgers to something like 33-percent from three-point range, then I think we have a good chance of winning. But, if Wisconsin starts getting hot from long range, it could be a long day for the Orange and Blue.

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