Wisconsin (5-13 Big Ten, 9-19 overall) opens up the Big Ten Tournament Tuesday at 7:20 p.m. against the struggling Purdue Boilermakers (3-15, 10-19).
The Badgers closed out the season with a much-needed win Sunday, finishing what was a strong second half of conference play.
In the final nine games of the Big Ten season, the Badgers upped their scoring average from 61.9 points per game to 72.8. If they had put up that many points all season, they would be the 38th highest-scoring offense in the nation.
They’ve struggled recently on the other side of the ball, though, giving up 77.6 points per game. Over a full season, that would rank among the bottom five in the country.
That being said, they stepped up their defense in the season finale against Penn State, conceding just 56 points and holding their opponent to 37.5 percent from the field.
The Boilermakers, on the other hand, average a meager 62.9 points per game, a mark the Badger defense will try to match: They’re 8-2 when they hold their opponents to 63 points or fewer.
Purdue comes into the game on a 10-game losing streak and have lost 14 of 15 overall. They haven’t scored more than 60 points in a regulation game since early January, and the Badgers will need to capitalize on that weakness.
Despite Wisconsin’s poor record, they have played some good basketball recently. Their last three losses have been against Iowa, Northwestern and Maryland, ranked No. 14, No. 24 and No. 5 in the country, respectively. In those games, they’ve fallen by an average margin of just six points.
The last time these two teams squared off, the Badgers walked away with a 65-56 win in spite of a poor shooting night from three-point range. They made just two of their 10 attempts from deep, including 1-of-4 from junior guard Nicole Bauman.
However, the Badgers do lead the Big Ten in shooting from beyond the arc, making 37.4 percent of their threes. If they can find open looks from beyond the arc and keep Purdue’s leading scorer, redshirt senior forward Whitney Bays (15.3 points per game), in check, they have a good shot at advancing to the next round.
Should they win, the Badgers will face the rival Minnesota Golden Gophers (11-7, 22-8) in the second round. From there, assuming a very favorable Wednesday and Thursday for UW, it will be Ohio State.
The Maryland Terrapins (18-0, 27-2) are the heavy favorites to win the tournament, but Iowa (14-4, 24-6) may look to play spoiler in the championship. They came within five points of a victory when the two met back in February and could be out for revenge.
