Tuesday NCAA: Illinois (16-8) at No. 13 Wisconsin (18-5)

Depending on what happens following this game in East Lansing, Mich., the winner of Illinois-Wisconsin could be tied for the Big Ten lead despite being three games out of first just one week ago.

Indeed, if Michigan State loses at home to Purdue, tonight’s winner will be tied with the Spartans at 9-3. And it’s these two teams that dealt Michigan State its two losses last week, with both the Badgers and Illini beating the visiting Spartans.

Illinois is a 9-point underdog tonight because Wisconsin is annually one of the best home teams in the country. In his nine-year tenure at Wisconsin, coach Bo Ryan has lost just five Big Ten games at the Kohl Center, and Illinois’ last victory there came in 2006. This season the Badgers are 13-0 at home (on an 18-game home winning streak overall) and have beaten highly ranked Duke, Purdue, Ohio State and Michigan State there. The Badgers have held six Big Ten teams to 50 points or less at home this year and 10 teams under 50 points overall, going 10-0 in the process.

With second-leading scorer Jon Leuer still out with a broken wrist, Wisconsin relies heavily on a three-guard set of Jason Bohannon, Trevon Hughes and Jordan Taylor, with all three averaging at least 10 points per game.

Illinois is on a four-game win streak and is led by point guard Demetri McCamey. Over the last 11 games for the Illini, McCamey has averaged 17.4 points per game, two points higher than his season average. During that streak, McCamey has scored more than 20 points four times, including a season-high 28 points in a Jan. 19 loss to Purdue. McCamey, a junior, was named co-Big Ten Player of the Week for last week after scoring 22 points and dishing out 11 assists in a victory over Michigan State on Saturday and having 15 points and seven assists earlier in the week in a victory over Iowa. It’s the first time in his career he has won the award.

UW has won six of the last seven meetings between the teams, including all three in 2008 before the squads split their season series in 2009. Both teams won their home court last year, and Wisconsin has won seven of its last nine meetings with Illinois at the Kohl Center. The Illini come to Madison averaging 74.2 points per game, while the Badgers are allowing opponents an average of just 56.2 ppg.

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