Starting Five: Badgers host Western Illinois Sunday
November 27, 2020 | Women's Basketball
Wisconsin opens 2020-21 season at home
Wisconsin
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WESTERN ILLINOIS
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Game Coverage
Nov. 29 | 2 p.m. | Kohl Center | Madison, Wis.
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin (12-19 in 2019-20) opens its 2020-21 season by hosting Western Illinois (15-15) on Sunday in the Kohl Center. Tip time is 2 p.m. with the game streamed live on BTN+.
1) OPENING AT HOME: The Badgers are 30-16 in season openers, including a 17-4 record at home. Wisconsin has won three straight season openers, including a 75-62 win over North Florida in 2019.
2) RETURNING TO ACTiON: UW returns two starters and seven letterwinners while adding seven newcomers, including two transfers, to the team. The Badgers return 50.6 percent of their points, 61.1 percent of their rebounds and more than 40 percent of their assists and steals
3) OH MAN, IMANI!: UW returns two of its top-three scorers led by junior Imani Lewis. Lewis led the Badgers with 14.5 points per game, which tied for eighth in the Big Ten, and 8.6 rebounds per game, which ranked fifth in the conference.
Lewis earned second-team All-Big Ten honors by media vote and honorable mention accolades by league coaches. She was named to the Big Ten weekly honor roll twice last season, leading all conference players with 13 double-doubles.
4) YOUNG BADGERS: Wisconsin has one of the youngest teams in the Big Ten with only four upperclassmen, including only one senior, and 11 underclassmen. By class, the Badgers have one senior, three juniors, six sophomores and five freshmen.
5) CLIMBING A HILL: Sophomore Sydney Hilliard returns as the Badgers' third-leading scorer from 2019-20. The 5-foot-11 guard averaged 9.2 points per game, which ranked seventh among Big Ten rookies. Hilliard played in 29 games, starting 23. She scored in double-figures in 12 games, including a career-high 23 points at Indiana. The Monroe, Wisconsin, native also added 4.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
