Starting a season 16-0 in any sport is a remarkable achievement, most notably in the National Football League for a perfect regular season. This was only done once after the league started playing 16 regular season games.
For the first time in program history, the No. 4 Wisconsin basketball team started their season 16-0 (3-0 Big Ten) after beating No. 23 Illinois 95-70. Their previous best start was in 1914 (15-0).
Head coach Bo Ryan urged for his team to be wary of letting their success get to their heads.
"If you start thinking about [being the first Wisconsin team to start 16-0] too much, it can go the other way in a hurry," Ryan said. "So I'm proud of the players, I'm proud of the team and I'm proud of what they have accomplished to this point. Let's try to keep it going."
The players are taking the time to appreciate the significance of the record, but are also cognizant of what is left for them to achieve.
"It means a lot, you take pride in what you have done to this point," sophomore forward Sam Dekker said. "We have a lot of expectations to uphold and a lot of work to do. We are nowhere near content with where we are at now and we have even bigger targets on our backs.
The Badgers perfect start has propelled Ryan to be named the Jim Phelan National Mid-Season Coach of the Year. After No. 3 Ohio State lost at No. 5 Michigan State, Wisconsin remain as the Big Ten's only remaining undefeated team.
The Badgers are now 33-11 at home against top-25 opponents under Ryan.
Performances like the one Wednesday night will mean good things for Wisconsin. In an offensive and defensive balance, the Badgers shot significantly better than the Illini, making 32-of-57 baskets and 23-of-33 free throws contrasted with 25-of-79 and 15-of-19 for Illinois.
In what Illinois head coach John Groce called the "Best offense we have played all year," Wisconsin featured five players scoring in double figures, lead by 18 points from senior guard Ben Brust.
"We have a bunch of guys who know how to make plays," Dekker said. "They bring different things to the table ... Us having a bunch of versatility on the offensive end just makes it a tougher matchup and that has worked in our favor so far.
The Illini improved in the second half and got 25 offensive rebounds in the game, but they could not come back from a 20-0 first half run and a 25-point halftime deficit.
"We did a good job of moving the ball and getting it out there in transition," junior guard Traevon Jackson said. "When we are aggressive I think we are at our best ... everybody is looking to score and everybody is looking to make a play and that is what we did during that run."
Ryan acknowledged that this was not a perfect victory and the amount of offensive rebounds was indicative of that.
"I thought we did what we wanted to defensively," Ryan said. "They made some adjustments and they hit the glass really hard and got a lot of second chance opportunities."
The Wisconsin dominance on two-point field goals was evident from the opening possession as Kaminsky used his length to get the game's first points on a layup, followed by being a missed free throw away from a 3-point-play just two possessions later.
The Illini came out of the break with a 13-to-5 run, but the hole from the first half proved insurmountable.
With about ten minutes gone in the second half, Jackson threw a perfect pass to Brust who cut to the basket for an easy layup. Brust came back the next possession and hit a 3-point shot.
In Sunday's narrow win against Iowa, Dekker started 0-of-9 on field goals. He rallied to shoot 6-of-8 for 17 points against Illinois. Dekker also brought in six rebounds.
"[Dekker] doesn't feel like he knows everything," Ryan said. "That is what's great about all these guys we have. They are soaking things up as we go along. That's what I really think is a very strong suit of this group."
Some of the success this season can be attributed to the strong play of the young bench players like freshmen forward Hayes and guard Bronson Koenig.
"You cherish the teaching opportunity," Ryan said. "We are trying to build our young guys. There is nothing wrong with youth, as long as they are receptive to the teaching."
Wisconsin will next travel to Indiana to play the Hoosiers on Jan. 14.
