Unbeaten Illini to test Badgers' streak at home

MADISON, Wis. -- Illinois is 19-0 and has been ranked No. 1 for a school-record eight straight weeks. So how does coach Bruce Weber make the case that his team should be the underdog tonight at Wisconsin?

Well, the 18th-ranked Badgers have won 38 games in a row at home -- the nation's longest current streak -- and are 53-2 at home under coach Bo Ryan, including 26-0 in Big Ten play.

The Badgers haven't lost at home since Wake Forest beat them 90-80 on Dec. 4, 2002, and the average margin of victory during the streak is 20.4 points.

Only five games have been decided by single digits, including their 62-59 win over Michigan State last week when the Badgers scored the game's final 11 points to overcome an eight-point deficit with under two minutes to play.

Afterward, the Badgers weren't the only ones excited about the comeback.

"I heard a couple guys under their breath say they wanted Wisconsin to beat Michigan State," Weber said, "so they'd have the chance to be the ones to break the streak."

Although Illinois has lost five straight games in Madison, the Badgers are just 1-14 against No. 1 teams, with their only victory coming against Ohio State in 1962.

And even though Wisconsin (13-3) beat the Illini handily twice last season, the Badgers know this is the biggest test they've faced since the streak started.

"The reason Illinois is so tough is that they've got seven guys that can knock down some shots. But we just need to approach this like all our other games," Badgers senior forward Mike Wilkinson said. "For them to say they're the underdogs, it would be hard to be believe from my standpoint. They're a great team, but we have the big home winning streak, so it should be a hotly contested game."

The streak might get into opponents' heads but not the Badgers'. They've kept it from becoming a burden by not even acknowledging it.

"We don't talk about it, never have," Ryan said. "Sure as I'm sitting here in a red jacket, I have never once said anything in the locker room, outside the locker room, to our guys about a streak."

The Badgers treat all games the same, home or away. They don't pay attention to labels or streaks.

Weber hopes his players enjoy being the self-proclaimed underdogs for a change.

"Maybe we'll have a little bit of a fear factor instead of having the target on our back," he said. "It'll be a different mind-set for us."