Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan isn’t easily surprised.

After No. 25 Illinois downed Wisconsin for the first time in six meetings on Saturday, Ryan sat in front of a room of reporters claiming he saw it coming all along. Not his team’s loss, per se, but an Illinois turnaround into a Big Ten contender this season from one year ago.

So when a reporter used the term “under the radar,” or similar sentiments, to describe Illinois’ rise this year, Ryan simply had to disagree.

“Well, first of all, I’ve seen every game they’ve played. Just like we do for every team we play, I’ll see every game,” Ryan said. “So if you’re saying to me, ‘under the radar,’ we knew what they had.

“Who cares (about preseason predictions)? We’ve never paid any attention to that. I can’t even tell you where we were picked. In the last eight years, I couldn’t tell you one time. So I don’t listen to that stuff, that’s you guys.”

The reporter’s original question, almost lost in Ryan’s tangent, was this: Can Illinois win the Big Ten? And Ryan wasn’t done answering.

“That’s only the second time I’ve heard that question asked,” Ryan said. “Somebody asked Gene Keady, ‘Can Wisconsin win the Big Ten?’ and Gene Keady said, ‘Why not?’ I’ll never forget that.

“Of course Illinois can win this league, but I’m not Gene Keady.”

Crashing the boards

Chester Frazier claims rebounding, on both the defensive and offensive end of the floor, is one area Illinois can improve. The team ranks eighth in the Big Ten in offensive rebounds with less than 10 per game, fifth in defensive boards and eighth in rebounding margin.

Although Illinois was only outrebounded by two against Wisconsin, Frazier said simply, “We haven’t rebounded the ball well,” adding his team needs to work on “limiting offensive rebounds by the other team.”

Forward Mike Davis, who works on the front lines in the rebounding battle, said he hasn’t been as crisp as he wants to be around the basket. Davis had 10 points and eight rebounds against Wisconsin.

“Just box out, rotate and box out. It’s just something I got to work on in practice,” Davis said. “You know, we keep doing rebounding drills in practice. Hopefully, you can get it down for the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament so it’s not a big problem late in the season.”

Frazier, for three

Frazier and fans alike may not have been comfortable with those words before this season, but Frazier has upped his shooting percentages drastically from one year ago. His field goal percentage has increased from .337 last year to .475, and his three-point percentage has risen from .275 to .395. Frazier said he’s been encouraged to work on his offensive game.

“(The coaches) kind of talked to me, told me to be a threat on offense, instead of just passing the ball being a threat,” Frazier said. “They had confidence in me I can shoot the ball, and my teammates told me to shoot the ball more. I’m just taking advantage of opportunities on the offensive end, not just being a 5-on-4 player, just a defensive player, extending my game.

“Now, coming down to tournament time, Big Ten Tournament time, teams are going to scout, they’re going to give me shots. I need to knock them down.”

Ego boost

Now that Illinois has surpassed its win total from all of last season with a 17-3 record, Weber said he’s needed to concentrate on keeping his team’s ego in check, reminding them that they aren’t perfect.

“The thing is, they got to deal with now, everybody telling them how good they are,” Weber said. “That’s a big key as far as, for me, their focus.”