MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin men's tennis team opens Big Ten Conference play this weekend at Nielsen Tennis Stadium. The Badgers (7-5, 0-0 B1G) host No. 5 Michigan (13-2, 0-0) on Friday at 6 p.m. and Michigan State (6-7, 0-0) on Sunday at noon.

Here are five things you should know before this weekend's matches:

1. B1G Expectations: Last season, the Badgers posted their best Big Ten finish since the 2017 season. They finished the year 6-2 in conference play which earned them a third-place finish, their best place since also finishing third in 2008. With five of six starters from last season returning, expectations are high for this year's team. Big Ten play will be tough this season with eight Big Ten teams currently in the ITA rankings: Ohio State (2), Michigan (5), Illinois (21), Northwestern (23), Nebraska (45), Wisconsin (52), Penn State (63), Michigan State (74). 

2. Successful Singles: While the doubles competition has been the Badgers' strength so far this season, singles competition for many of the players has been very consistent as well. Senior Sebastian Vile holds the best record so far this season on the team, collecting his ninth singles win during last Sunday's win over Penn. Vile currently has a 9-3 record at singles while fellow senior Gabriel Huber and freshman Michael Minasyan aren't far behind. Huber and Minasyan have both tallied seven wins so far and will look for more in Big Ten play starting this weekend. 

3. Know the Opponents: Michigan is currently the No. 5-ranked team in the country with a season record of 13-2. Their two losses came at the hands of No. 7 Texas (4-3) and No. 4 Ohio State (4-2). Despite their two ranked losses, the Wolverines have collected seven ranked wins over the course of the season so far. The Wolverines boast four singles players in the top 35 nationally: Andrew Fenty (No. 9), Ondrej Styler (No. 10), Patrick Maloney (No. 17), and Gavin Young (No. 35). In doubles, Michigan holds the No. 9-ranked doubles team in Andrew Fenty and Gavin Young. 

Michigan State is 6-7 overall this season and currently the No. 67-ranked team in the country. Six of the Spartans' losses this season were to ranked teams and they have recorded one ranked win so far beating No. 61 Drake 4-1 last weekend, a team the Badgers lost to in late February. Freshman Ozan Baris is the only Spartan singles player in the most recent ITA rankings, checking in at No. 29, while Baris and doubles partner Max Sheldon are the No. 20-ranked doubles team in the country. 

4. Follow the Action: Live updates on the Badgers can be found on Twitter (@BadgerMTennis) and Instagram (@wisconsintennis), while live scoring/streaming will be linked from the men's tennis schedule page on UWBadgers.com.

5. Up Next: The Badgers hit the road for the first time during conference play for a Friday night match on March 31 at Penn State before traveling to Columbus for an April 2 matchup against Ohio State.