1. ALL-TIME vs. ARIZONA

Sunday will mark the eighth all-time meeting between Wisconsin and Arizona. The Badgers hold a 5-2 all-time series lead over the Wildcats, but UW has never won in Tucson (0-1). Wisconsin is 4-1 against Arizona since 2000, with four of those meetings coming in the NCAA tournament.

The most recent clash between the two programs came on March 28, 2015 in the Elite Eight of the 2015 NCAA Tournament. The Badgers knocked off No. 2 Arizona, 85-78, en route to their second-straight Final Four. Despite trailing by three at the half, Wisconsin went 10-for-12 from behind the arc to finish the game. Sam Dekker (27 points) and Frank Kaminsky (29 points) combined for over half of UW's total points. It was the second-straight season that the Badgers and Wildcats met in the regional final, and both times UW won to advance to the Final Four.

2. SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

The Wildcats are currently ranked No. 1 in the nation, holding a perfect 7-0 record so far this season. It marks the first time that Arizona has reached the No. 1 spot in the Tommy Lloyd era (third season) and the program's first No. 1 ranking since 2014. The Wildcats have earned wins over No. 2 Duke and No. 21 Michigan State.

Arizona is coming off an 82-55 win over Colgate on Saturday, Dec. 2. The Wildcats have five players who are averaging double figures. Caleb Love (13.3 ppg), Keshad Johnson (12.9 ppg), Kylan Boswell (12.7 ppg), Oumar Ballo (12.1 ppg), and Pelle Larsson (11.0 ppg) are all averaging 10+ points per game.

3. LAST TIME OUT

Wisconsin is coming off a 70-57 win against Michigan State in East Lansing. The win extended the Badgers' win streak to six straight games and improved UW's record to 7-2 on the season. UW won its Big Ten opener for the sixth-straight season, and 19th time in the last 21 Big Ten openers.

The Badgers held MSU to just 23 points in the first half, the lowest for MSU since Feb. 19, 2022 against Illinois. The Badgers also out-rebounded the Spartans, 36-22, which included an 11-5 edge on the offensive glass. 

Sophomore guard AJ Storr led the Badgers with 22 points, matching his season and career high at UW. Storr shot 4-for-6 from 3-point range. Steven Crowl finished with a season high 18 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists. John Blackwell provided 10 points off the bench, hitting double figures for the sixth time in eight games this season. 

4. RISING THE RANKS

The Badgers checked into the AP Top 25 rankings for the first time this season at No. 23. Wisconsin is on a six-game win streak, which includes wins over No. 24 Virginia at the Fort Myers Tip-Off, No. 3 Marquette at home and a road victory at Michigan State.

Those six games have resulted in the Badgers winning by an average of 14.7 points per game, while allowing just 56.7 points per game. A big point of emphasis for the team is crashing the glass, with the Badgers out-rebounding opponents by 11.2 rebounds per game.

Wisconsin joins Kansas and Purdue as the only teams in the nation with three wins over ranked teams in the Ken Pomeroy Top 30 (Marquette, Michigan State and Virginia). UW is 2-1 against the AP Top 25 this season and have gone 3-1 on the road. 

5. LOOKING AHEAD

Wisconsin opens a four-game homestand with Jacksonville State on Thursday, Dec. 14. That game is followed by a clash with Chicago State on Friday Dec. 22 to close out the calendar year.

The Badgers will resume Big Ten play hosting Iowa on Tuesday, Jan. 2.