The Wisconsin Badgers women’s basketball squad ended their regular season on a poor note. It was not just losing their 32nd straight game to the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday, 82-51, but it was the ladies’ ninth straight loss this season after an uplifting upset win over Nebraska.
But all is not lost this season. Robin Pingeton’s squad has a chance to collect more wins this season, thanks in part to the Purdue Boilermakers' win over Northwestern.
The Wisconsin Badgers women’s basketball team faces Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament
The Badgers, a 15th-seed in this year’s Big Ten Tournament, will face the Illinois Fighting Illini at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis this Wednesday at approximately 5:00pm. It will be after Indiana and Nebraska complete their game, and the Big Ten will allow 25 minutes for both teams to warm up.
This game will be a rematch between the two border rivals from February 11th, when Illinois cruised to a 92-60 win in Champaign. In that game, Illinois star Aliyah Guyton dominated by scoring 22 points on 8-of-13 shots from the floor, including hitting all six three-point attempts.
For Wisconsin to pull the upset and move on, it must strengthen its defense after halftime. Back on February 11th, the Badgers allowed the Illini to shoot 78.6% (11-of-14 from the field) to take what was already a staunch Illinois halftime lead into a rout. Against the Hawkeyes, Wisconsin scored just nine points in the third quarter, turning a four-point Iowa halftime lead into a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit.
Robin Pingeton’s first season at the helm of Wisconsin women’s basketball saw some success, with three home wins over ranked teams. However, a loss would equal the exact same record as Marisa Moseley’s final season last year. A win on Wednesday would show Badger fans that this women’s basketball program is worth monitoring the next few years.