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Wisconsin looks to keep pace in Big Ten race

Feb 20, 2008 - 2:27 PM No. 10 Wisconsin (21-4) at Illinois (11-15) 9:00 pm EST

CHAMPAIGN, Illinois (Ticker) - Wisconsin looks for a season sweep of Illinois in a key Big Ten Conference game on Wednesday.

The 10th-ranked Badgers (21-4, 11-2), who are tied with No. 14 Indiana for second place with No. 15 Purdue ahead by a half-game, have defeated the Fighting Illini (11-5, 3-10) the last three games.

Wisconsin, 5-1 in conference road games and 7-2 overall away from home, won at Illinois for the first time since 1997 with a 71-64 victory here last year.

Senior forward Brian Butch leads the Badgers at 12.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Wisconsin has won two straight since a 72-67 home loss to the Boilermakers.

Illinois was 9-9 through 18 games, but has dropped six of its last eight. The Illini, coming off a 52-51 loss at Penn State on Saturday, has a 6.8-point average margin of defeat in conference games.

Senior center Shaun Pruitt leads Illinois with 12.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. The Illini are 0-6 against ranked opponents this season.