UW AIMS FOR FIFTH WIN IN A ROW
Winners of 4 straight, the Badgers will host Ohio State on Thursday, Feb. 4. Of UW's last 10 games, 8 have been decided by 6 points or less.
    Up next, UW will host Nebraska on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. on BTN. The Badgers have won 5 of the 6 meetings since the Huskers joined the Big Ten.

NOTES TO KNOW
1 TURNING THE CORNER: After suffering 4 Big Ten losses by an average of 3.8 points, UW has started winning the close games. Overall, the Badgers have played a total of 8 games decided by 3 points or less, 2nd most in the nation.
2 RESUME BUILDING: According to ESPN.com, Wisconsin has faced the 11th-toughest schedule in the nation. UW has notched 4 top-50 RPI wins. Iowa (7) and Michigan State (5) are the only other Big Ten teams with at least 4 wins.
3 CHANGING OF THE GARD: The Badgers are 6-4 since Greg Gard assumed the head coaching duties on Dec. 15. Over that span, Wisconsin is shooting 45.0% (34.0% 3FGs) under Gard after hitting on just 41.2% (32.9%) in the 12 contests prior to him taking over. UW is averaging 72.0 ppg over its current 4-game win streak.
4 HAYES-ING: Preseason All-Big Ten pick Nigel Hayes is 1 of just 2 players in the Big Ten averaging at least 16.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg and 3.5 apg. He is 5th in the Big Ten in scoring at 17.0 ppg but has averaged 22.0 ppg over the last 4.
5 TAKING WHAT'S FREE: UW ranks 2nd in the Big Ten, averaging 22.3 FTAs per game. Over the last 4 games, the Badgers have taken it to another level averaging 32.0 FTAs per game. Nigel Hayes is 37-for-47 over that stretch.
6 HAPP PUSHING FOR FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: A three-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week, Ethan Happ is making his claim as the Big Ten's top rookie. Off a career-high 25 points vs. Indiana (1/26), Happ leads the Big Ten in doubles-doubles (7), ranks 2nd in rebounding (8.3 rpg) and is 4th among Big Ten freshman in scoring (12.3 ppg).
7 ANOTHER TOP-5 TAKEDOWN: Including the win over No. 4 MSU, UW has won 7 of its last 10 games vs. the AP top 5 dating back to 2013. During that span, no other Big Ten team has a winning record or more than five top-5 wins.
8 KOENIG HEATING UP: Bronson Koenig ranks 2nd on the Badgers averaging 13.4 ppg, shooting 37.9% from 3-point range. The junior guard has hit a triple in 33 consecutive games, the 5th-longest streak in the country.
9 THAT 70S SHOW: Wisconsin has won 29 consecutive games when scoring at least 70 points.

SERIES VS. OHIO STATE
Thursday's game will be the 155th meeting between Wisconsin and Ohio State in a series beginning in 1905. OSU leads the all-time series, 86-68, however UW holds a 46-32 edge in games played in Madison. Wisconsin and Ohio State have split the last 20 meetings between the schools.
- UW is 12-10 against Thad Matta-led Ohio State teams. The Badgers own the best win percentage against Matta's Buckeyes of any Big Ten team.
- Thursday's contest will be the only regularseason meeting between the Badgers and Buckeyes. The two teams met just once in each of the previous 2 seasons as well. Last year, UW claimed a 72-48 win in Columbus, OSU's most lopsided Big Ten loss at Value City Arena. In 2014, the Buckeyes claimed a rare 59-58 win in Madison last season, just their 2nd in 11 meetings at the Kohl Center since 2002.
- Wisconsin has held Ohio State to 60 or fewer points in each of the last 7 meetings.
- Thursday marks a rare meeting between UW and OSU where neither is ranked. At least one of the teams have been ranked in 20 of the last 21 meetings (dating back to 2005). In fact, both teams have been ranked in 9 of the last 11 meetings.

NOTES FROM UW'S LAST GAME
UW 63, ILL 55 - 1/31/16 - State Farm Center
- A Khalil Iverson dunk with just under 5:00 remaining in the first half gave UW a 23-22 lead over Illinois on Sunday night. The Badgers would never trail again on their way to a 63-55 win in Champaign.
- UW would post a dominant 22-8 edge in points in paint led by 17 points from Nigel Hayes. The Badgers also out-rebounded the Illini 37-25.
- The Badgers went 17-20 (.850) from the foul line with all 20 FTAs coming in the second half.
- Wisconsin would get 19 points from its bench, the team's highest mark during Big Ten play. That included a career-best 10 points and 5 rebounds from Iverson, who saw a career-high 30 minutes of action. Vitto Brown, who came off the bench for the first time this season while dealing with an upper body injury, chipped in 9 points in 12 minutes.

PARALLELS TO 2002?
Prior to Sunday's win over MSU, the Badgers owned a .500 record (9-9) with 13 Big Ten games remaining. The last time Wisconsin owned a .500 record in January came in 2002, Bo Ryan's fi rst season in Madison, when UW was also 8-8 with 13 Big Ten games left.
    Like they hope will happen this season, the 2002 Badgers jump-started their season by knocking off No. 25 Michigan State (64-63) to climb above .500. UW would go on to win 10 of it's fi nal 13 games and claim a share of the 2002 Big Ten Championship.

UW RESUME GETTING STRONGER 
- According to ESPN.com RPI rankings, UW has faced the 11th-toughest schedule in the NCAA and the highest among Big Ten teams. Of UW's 9 Big Ten games, 5 have come against teams currently in the AP Top 25.
- The Badgers have registered 6 RPI top-100 wins and 4 wins over the RPI top 50 this season. Among Big Ten teams, Iowa (7) and Michigan State (5) are the only other teams with at least 4 top-50 wins. Indiana, Maryland and Ohio State only have 3 top-50 wins combined.
- The Badgers' 5 home losses have come by a combined 14 points (2.8 avg.). In each of the defeats, UW was either tied or within one score in the final 2:00. In fact, the Badgers had a game-winning/tying shot attempt in the closing seconds of 3 of the losses.

2015-16 TEAM INFO
Starters Returning/Lost: 2/3 | Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 9/5
- Wisconsin looks to replace five of the top seven scorers from a year ago, but does return a pair of starters in juniors Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig. Overall, the Badgers bring back 38.1% of their minutes played from last season. UW will bring back 34.3% of its scoring, 31.5% of its rebounding and 40.5% of their assists.
- The 2015-16 season will mark the first year under Bo Ryan in which the Badgers do not have a scholarship senior. The only senior on the roster is walk-on guard Jordan Smith. Wisconsin has had at least one senior starter in each of Ryan's first 14 seasons in Madison. In fact, the Badgers have started at least two seniors in 10 of those 14 seasons.
- UW returns four players from last season's nine-man rotation:

FRONTCOURT
Nigel Hayes, Jr., F (12.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg) - Third-team All-Big Ten; 9th in Big Ten shooting 49.7% overall and 3rd on UW shooting 39.6% from 3s; 4 career double-doubles
Vitto Brown, Jr., F (2.8 ppg, 1.5 rpg) - Played in 34 games as a soph. averaging 6.3 mpg

BACKCOURT
Bronson Koenig, Jr., G (8.7 ppg, 2.5 apg) - Started final 24 games; 4th on the team in points and 2nd in assists; 2nd on team shooting 40.5% on 3s; 3.0 assist-to-TO Ratio
Zak Showalter, Jr., G (2.1 ppg, 1.3 rpg) - Redshirt junior averaged 7.6 minutes off the bench; career-high 9 points vs. Indiana (Feb. 3, 2015)
- The Badgers will gain the services of redshirt freshmen Ethan Happ and T.J. Schlundt in 2014- 15, who both redshirted in their first year on campus. UW will also add five true freshmen to their roster in 2015-16, Alex Illikainen (Grand Rapids, Minn.), Khalil Iverson (Delaware, Ohio), Brevin Pritzl (De Pere, Wis.), Charlie Thomas (Highland, Md.), Andy Van Vliet (Brasschaat, Belgium).

ALL-BIG TEN DUO: HAYES, KOENIG
A pair of Badgers were named to the 2015-16 Preseason All-Big Ten Team, as Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig were each selected by a vote of the league's media. This is the second consecutive season Wisconsin has had a pair selected to the conference's preseason team as Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker earned the distinction last year.
- Hayes and Koenig were also named to watch lists for the Julius Erving Award and Bob Cousy Award, respectively, as announced by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Each watch list contains the top 20 players at its position, as the Julius Erving Award recognizes the top small forward in the nation and the Bob Cousy Award recognizes the top point guard in the country.
Dekker was a finalist for the Erving Award last season. Jordan Taylor (2012) was UW's last finalist for the Cousy Award.
- Junior Nigel Hayes was named a preseason All-American by The Sporting News and finished 9th in the AP preseason All-American balloting.

YOUTH BEING SERVED
The 2015-16 Badgers are the youngest in now retired head coach Bo Ryan's 15 seasons. No school in the country has more freshmen on its roster than Wisconsin (8). Cornell and UTEP are the only other schools with 8 freshmen.
- Redshirt freshman Ethan Happ became just the 3rd freshman to start the season opener under Bo Ryan, joining Devin Harris (2001) and George Marshall (2012).
- True freshmen Khalil Iverson and Charlie Thomas have each seen extensive action off the Badgers' bench.
- UW's other scholarship freshmen Alex Illikainen and Brevin Pritzl made their debuts vs. Siena. Illikainen chipped in 6 points in 7 minutes. Andy Van Vliet (ineligible) has yet to see action.