MADISON, Wis. – No. 11 Wisconsin men's basketball is set for a top-20 matchup to decide sole possession of first place in the Big Ten Conference standings when the Badgers travel to Champaign to face No. 18 Illinois on Wednesday night. Tip is set for 8 p.m. (CT) on Big Ten Network. Before the showdown, here is the Starting Five:

1.) Border Battle Dub: Johnny Davis (16 pts), Tyler Wahl (15 pts), Brad Davison (14 pts), and Steven Crowl (11 pts) each scored in double figures, as Wisconsin tied up the all-time series with Border Battle rival Minnesota at 104-104. Davis put the game in his hands with the game tied up at 60, scoring the game's final six points to secure the Badgers a victory. The La Crosse native also grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds, just the seventh player in the Big Ten to grab that many boards this season.

2.) Here's Johnny: The sophomore sensation leads the Badgers in points, rebounds, assists, and steals and has provided a spark to push Wisconsin to the top of the Big Ten standings midway through conference play. His electric campaign is highlighted by six games of 25 points or more, Wooden Award Late Season Top-20 recognition, as well as MVP honors at the Maui Invitational.
 

The best player in college basketball.

Step into the spotlight, @JohnnyDavis

💥 https://t.co/N74SMYohvQ#HeresJohnny pic.twitter.com/s2UBHRlivK

— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) January 31, 2022

3.) Badgers for Three: Over the last five league games, UW has hit 41 triples, while over the first five conference matches they made just 27 treys. Brad Davison alone has improved his numbers from deep from 10 to 21 over the first five games and last five games of Big Ten play. In a mid-January win at Northwestern, the Badgers shot above 50% from behind the arc going 9-for-17 (52.9%) for the first time since Wisconsin beat Penn State in the Big Ten tournament last season.

4.) Protect Possession: Wisconsin leads the nation in turnovers per game with 8.45, while the Badgers next opponent, Illinois, ranks 13th in the Big Ten giving up possession 13.3 times per game. The distinct difference is a statistic worth watching when Wisconsin squares off with the Fighting Illini on Wednesday night.

5.) Wisconsin/Illinois History: The Badgers trail the all-time series against Illinois, 113-90, but have won seven of the last eight games played in Champaign. The last time Wisconsin beat Illinois came in 2019 with UW earning a 64-58 victory at the Kohl Center. Brad Davison led UW with 18 points in the win.