Wisconsin tangles with W. Illinois ahead of grueling stretch

Wisconsin will be looking to extend its three-game winning streak when it hosts Western Illinois on Monday in Madison before the Badgers enter a gauntlet against ranked opponents.

Wisconsin (4-2) overcame a 10-point second-half deficit to rally past SMU 69-61 on Wednesday in the championship game of the Fort Myers Tip-Off. Western Illinois (2-4) lost at Illinois 84-52 on Friday.

After Western Illinois, Wisconsin faces No. 4 Marquette, No. 21 Michigan State and No. 3 Arizona in an eight-day span.

After dominating No. 24 Virginia 65-41 in the Fort Myers opener, the Badgers overcame a dismal first half against SMU with strong play down the stretch, pulling away from a 57-57 tie.

After hitting just 1 of their first 19 three-pointers against SMU, the Badgers hit 4 of their last 5. Wisconsin also held a 40-24 edge in points in the paint and was 12-of-13 from the free-throw line. Tyler Wahl had 14 points and the Badgers had four other players in double figures in winning their third straight.

"We've got a long ways in front of us, but we have to take what we've learned here in these two games and build upon it and continue to push forward," Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said after the SMU game.

The Badgers gave up an average of 76.0 points through their first three games this season, but just 56.7 during their three-game winning streak.

Wisconsin has five players scoring in double figures, led by AJ Storr, a sophomore transfer from St. John's, at 13.3. Steven Crowl leads with 7.3 boards per game.

Western Illinois had three players in double figures against Illinois, led by James Dent Jr. with 20 points. Drew Cisse had a team-high 12 rebounds and eight points.

Dent averages a team-high 17.7 points and Ryan Myers adds 11.5. Cisse averages 10.5 boards and 8.5 points. The Leathernecks average 70.2 points, while allowing 77.3.

"I'm happy with the way they competed," Western Illinois coach Chad Boudreau said after the loss to Illinois. "One of the big things, I did not want us quitting. Someone is always watching, someone is always paying attention, we're doing good things and we kept fighting and kept competing."

Western Illinois is 2-1 vs. Wisconsin all-time. In their last meeting, the Leathernecks stunned a Badgers team coming off back-to-back Final Four appearances 69-67 in the 2015-16 season opener in Madison.

—Field Level Media