Wisconsin Vs. Illinois Preview: No. 22 Fighting Illini Hosting Badgers

The Illinois Fighting Illini are hosting the Wisconsin Badgers on Sunday afternoon as they hope to bounce back from a recent loss to Penn State. Illinois is currently ranked No. 22 in the nation by the AP, but it is expected to drop out of the rankings just one week after entering them due to the loss against the Nittany Lions.

In Wisconsin, Illinois will be facing another Big Ten team that's working to get back on track. The Badgers were near the top 10 in the nation when they lost three consecutive games to Iowa, Michigan and Michigan State, pushing them out of the rankings entirely. They've bounced back to win their past three games, though, including a 77-57 beating of Northwestern earlier this week.

At this point, the Big Ten is essentially wide open. A win against Wisconsin would bump Illinois back into a four-way tie for first place in the conference standings with Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State, all ranked in the top 20 nationally.

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