With two starters sidelined after being bitten by the proverbial injury bug, the UW men’s basketball team needed somebody to step up in their matchups with Michigan and Illinois last week.

Wisconsin had just lost a heartbreaker to Purdue and, without the services of their athletic, small forward Alando Tucker and defensive stopper Freddie Owens, many believed they would drop at least one of the two tough conference games on their slate.

The Badgers proved their doubters wrong, however, and extended their home-winning streak to 24 games with a pair of decisive victories.

While they received a number of strong performances over their two-game stretch — from their bench, in particular — one player stood out in the crowd in both contests.

Although he still remains in relative obscurity to many of the players, coaches and fans outside the Big Ten, UW junior forward Mike Wilkinson put together one of the strongest string of games in the country last week.

“Wilks” averaged 21 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in Wisconsin’s back-to-back double-digit victories, and connected on 18 of his 27 attempts from the field.

In the Badgers’ 76-56 dismantling of Dee Brown and the Illini Saturday, UW’s reliable big man netted 24 points, hit two of this three attempts from beyond the arc and pulled down nine boards.

Yet, somehow, the guy doesn’t receive the sort of national exposure and attention that many other interior players enjoy.

Now, there are a number of things I don’t understand.

I’m perplexed, for example, how a guy with a “physique o’ steel” like Dr. Phil can make money selling books that outline tips on how to lose weight. I’m also baffled as to how a television program as hilarious as “Kids Do the Darndest Things” hasn’t caught on and hit prime time. But Mike Wilkinson not garnering credit for being one of the country’s elite inside players is perhaps the most dumfounding to me.

During the post-game press conference of Wisconsin’s win over Illinois Saturday, a reporter told Wilkinson, “There seems to be a notion of people who aren’t close to the Wisconsin program that this team isn’t all that talented.”

Not all that talented?

The Big Ten championship-winning team of a year ago is still almost completely intact, and Wisconsin has only lost three games this season despite the unavailability of Alando Tucker for a bulk of the year.

As far as this “notion” goes in regards to Wilkinson individually, the opposing head coaches of UW’s past two games would likely refute its legitimacy wholeheartedly.

Early last week, Michigan head coach Tommy Amaker said Wilkinson and Harris were “arguably the Big Ten’s best inside-outside combination.” And after Wisconsin’s victory over Illinois, Illini head coach Bruce Weber said, “I love Wilkinson. I think he’s tough. He knows how to get angles. He has a good feel of the game, and that’s why they have success.”

Part of the reason many people are unaware of his talent, though, may be due to his style of play.

Wilkinson is about the least flashy player around. I can’t even recall the last time I saw him dunk the ball in a game, if ever.

He has a knack for picking up what many people refer to as “garbage points” — picking up loose balls or grabbing stray rebounds for easy lay-ups. But he rarely makes a play that is highlight-worthy by many people’s standards.

Aside from his style of play, “Wilks'” style, in general, may be a reason for the lack of national attention his game has received.

If you ask him to talk about how well he played after having a big game, he usually winds up talking about how well Boo Wade played defensively or how tough Devin Harris was at the point. It can drive a reporter crazy, but you have to respect somebody who’s more concerned with “we” than “I.”

But, to be fair, he has occasionally received the national spotlight this year.

Stuart Scott has highlighted him in game wrap-ups on SportsCenter, even dropping a “Mike Wilkinson, get some” during the telecast. Also, during Wisconsin’s matchup with Maryland, Bill Raftery quipped, “Wilkinson wants to be a farmer. With that frame and that soft touch, I’d stay off his property.”

But for the most part, Wilkinson’s contributions have gone seemingly unnoticed by many people this year.

There isn’t a coach in the country that wouldn’t want a guy like him on his team though. Whether he’s setting a screen to help Harris bring the ball up the floor or doing the dirty work under the hoop to grab a rebound, a player like Wilkinson is an invaluable asset to any basketball team.

So, the question posed by the fans in the first row of UW’s student section Saturday may have said it best: “Got Wilk?”