MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin (8-20, 5-13 B1G) has earned the No. 11 seed at the 2022 Big Ten Tournament. The Badgers take on No. 14-seed Illinois (6-19, 1-13) in the first round on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. CT at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis live on the Big Ten Network.
Here are five things to know before Wednesday's game.
1. FACING THE ILLINI: Wisconsin is 1-1 against the Illini this season, falling in Champaign, 68-47, on Jan. 9 but downing Illinois 70-62, on Feb. 6 in Madison. The Badgers are 2-4 against Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament, including a first-round loss in 2021. The Badgers are 15-28 in 28 years of conference tournament play. Wisconsin has been the No. 11 seed four other times, including most recently in 2017, and are 2-4 in the tournament when seeded 11th.
2. BEST B1G RECORD SINCE 2014-15: Halle Douglass scored a lay up with six seconds remaining and
Brooke Schramek blocked a last-second shot by the Boilermakers to give Wisconsin a 63-62 win at Purdue on Sunday. The win gives the Badgers their most Big Ten wins since the 2014-15 season.
3. HELPING HAND / TEAM BLOCKS: Wisconsin dished off 20 assists on 27 field goals at Purdue on Sunday, the second-highest dimes in a game this season. The Badgers also recorded seven blocks, the second-highest in a game this season, including a career-high tying three from
Brooke Schramek.
4. MOST IMPROVED SCORERS: Brooke Schramek, Julie Pospíšilová and
Halle Douglass rank among the Big Ten's most improved scorers for 2021-22. Schramek ranks seventh, improving her scoring from 2.9 as a freshman to 8.5 this season, an improvement of 5.6 points per game. Pospíšilová ranks eighth, upping her scoring from 8.9 last season to 14.0 this season, an improvement of 5.1 points per game. Douglass moves on to the list, ranking 10th. She averaged 2.4 points per game as a freshman, upping that by 3.7 points per game to 6.1 this year.
5. SCOUTING ILLINOIS: Illinois enters the Big Ten Tournament on an 11-game skid. The Illini are averaging 63.6 points per game behind sophomore guard Aaliyah, who averages 12.1 points per game. Freshman Adalia McKenzie adds 9.1 points per game and ranks second on the team with 4.2 rebounds per game. Eight other players have tallied at least one double-digit scoring game. Sophomore forward Kendall Bostic leads the Big Ten with 11.5 rebounds per game, having posted five double-doubles this season.
