MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin men's basketball team returns home to open up Big Ten Conference play against the undefeated Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (CT) at the Kohl Center.


1) BATTLE TESTED: Wisconsin faces a challenging slate of opponents in the coming weeks. The Badgers will open conference play against undefeated Indiana on Saturday in the Kohl Center then, enter a tough late-December matchup against No. 21 Tennessee on Dec. 28. UW's non-conference schedule ranks as the 12th-toughest in the nation, according to a system developed by Matt Norlander/CBS Sports. The formula's point system takes into consideration games: vs. preseason top-25 KenPom teams (2 points), vs. preseason 26-50 KenPom teams (1), road games (2), neutral-court (1), vs. 2019 NCAA tournament teams (0.5), sub-200 KenPom teams (-1).

2) LEAVE IT TO REUVERS: Wisconsin has received consistent production from junior Nate Reuvers, who has scored in double figures in all eight of Wisconsin's games to start the year. The Minnesota native leads all Badgers in scoring and rebounds, averaging 14.9 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game. Reuvers has also emerged as an elite defensive presence, tallying 21 blocks on the season. The dynamic big man now has 107 rejections in his career, which is good for 7th place on UW's all-time list.

3) NCAA TOURNAMENT REGULARS: Wisconsin is one of five schools to participate in 20 of last 21 NCAA tournaments, joining Kansas, Duke, Michigan State and Gonzaga.That stretch includes a run of 19 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, which is the 6th-longest stretch in NCAA history.The Badgers are one of three teams to reach the Sweet 16 in six of the last nine seasons, advancing to the tournament's second weekend in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Kansas and Kentucky are the only other 2 schools to reach six of the last nine seasons.

4) THE HOOSIERS: Indiana (8-0) is off to its best start since its 2012-2013 Sweet 16 season. The Hoosiers are led by freshman forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, who is nearly averaging a double-double with 15.5 points per game and 9.4 rebounds per game. Indiana, led by Head Coach Archie Miller, enters Saturday's contest at the Kohl Center fresh off an 80-64 victory over No. 17 Florida State on Tuesday. 

5) BENCH BUCKETS: Senior Brevin Pritzl has grabbed five or more rebounds in four of eight games this year while averaging 7.3 points per game off the bench.The De Pere native posted the first double-double of his career with 15 points and a career-high 13 rebounds against Marquette on November 17. 

LAST TIME OUT
NC State 69, Wisconsin 54

Wisconsin saw its recent road shooting woes continue, suffering a 69-54 loss to NC State in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Wednesday night in Raleigh, N.C.

• The Wolfpack shot 48.2% from the field (27-for-56), and 40% from 3 (8-for-20), while the Badgers were 21-for-56 (37.5%) overall and 21.7% from 3 (5-for-23).
• Aleem Ford led UW in scoring with 13 points and seven rebounds. 

• The Badgers held NC State to a season-low 69 points in the loss.

SERIES VS. INDIANA

• Saturday's game marks the 171st meeting between Wisconsin and Indiana dating back to 1910. The Hoosiers lead the all-time series, 97-74, but the Badgers hold a 43-40 edge for games played in Madison.

• UW has won 19 of the last 22 matchups with Indiana, including five of the last six meetings.The Badgers have won 16 straight over the Hoosiers in Madison, including a 71-61 win in the most recent meeting at the Kohl Center on Jan. 2, 2018. In fact, Indiana's last win at the Kohl Center was in 1998, the first year of the Kohl Center.

• Since 2002, Wisconsin is 25-6 (.806) all-time vs. the Hoosiers.
• In their last meeting on Feb. 26, Indiana's Romeo Langford made a go-ahead layup with under a second to go in double overtime, and Indiana upset #19 Wisconsin, 75-73, at Assembly Hall.

BIG TEN BEASTS

• Since 2002, Wisconsin has won 7 Big Ten championships (4 regular season and 3 tournament). Only Ohio State (10; 5 regular season, 5 tournament) and Michigan State have won more titles during that era (9; 5 regular season, 4 tournament).
• UW has clinched a top-four finish in the Big Ten in 17 of the last 18 seasons. No other Big Ten team can make that claim.
• Since 2001-02, Wisconsin owns the best win percentage and most wins among Big Ten teams, posting a mark of 217-97 (.691).
• Over the last 15 seasons, UW is 131-25 (.840) in Big Ten home games, the best mark in the conference.