With the Wisconsin men's basketball team trouncing Northwestern by 28 and only allowing 12 first half points, the women's team (3-10 Big Ten, 11-15 overall) is looking to make it a Badger double against the Wildcats (4-9, 12-14).
Wisconsin is coming off of a two-game losing-streak and is trying to get only their second road win of the season in Evanston. The Badgers lost to Purdue at home and at Illinois in the past eight days. Northwestern is also coming off of a loss, as they lost to Michigan State who currently sit third in the Big Ten.
"They are just a smart team," assistant coach Stacy Cantley said. "Every game has been close for them. So we have to be smart and really outplay them on the offensive end and rebound the ball. We just need to do the little things."
The average margin of defeat in Big Ten games for the Wildcats is 7.8 points while the Badgers average 11.8 in their conference losses. The largest margin of defeat for Northwestern was 18 against Illinois while Wisconsin's was by 44 against Penn State.
Rebounding could turn the tides in Saturday's game. The Wildcats are fifth in the Big Ten in rebounding offense while the Badgers are eighth. However, in rebounding defense, Wisconsin is eighth and Northwestern is twelfth.
"We didn't rebound well the last game," Cantley said. "I think we can really take advantage of the rebounding side of things because they have a tendency to not box out very well. So if we can crash, against Illinois we didn't really crash, if we can take advantage of rebounding I think we should be okay." Illinois had 14 offensive rebounds while the Badgers only had eight.
Wisconsin is looking to establish a team identity. "Wisconsin style of basketball is getting up and down the court, trying to score as fast as possible but also being very stubborn and determined on the defensive end," junior guard Morgan Paige said. "I would say in the games that we have been in, it has been because of our defense. We also play better when we are on the run and in transition, we score more."
"We need to focus on playing 40 minutes," junior forward Cassie Rochel said. "We need to step up in these last few games that we have and play hard for 40 minutes just to show everyone we can do this." Rochel is second on the team in rebounding, averaging 8.6 per game.
Wisconsin does not see this game against Northwestern as a trap game, even though their next game is their home finale against Nebraska, who is second in the Big Ten.
"Northwestern is a team that is similar to us in the fact that they have been playing extremely hard," Paige said. "It is more of a matchup game than a trap game. It's all going to be about the little things that we do. Whoever is going to scrap to the last point, to the last possession, to the last rebound is going to be the winner in this game."
