MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin Badgers (5-1) moved up to No. 22 in both the AP and USA Today Coaches Polls on Monday following their 2-1 performance in last week's Battle 4 Atlantis, and will take on the N.C. State Wolfpack (6-0) on Tuesday night at the Kohl Center as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Tip off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. tomorrow night, and our UW men's basketball notebook is included below.

Sophomore forward Aleem Ford made his return to the court for the Badgers during the Battle 4 Atlantis after only missing three games with a pre-season knee injury. UW head coach Greg Gard described Ford's role in Wisconsin's three tournament games as limited, but said on Monday during his weekly press conference that Ford has returned to practice full-time. And now that Ford isn't on a "pitch count," Gard said he hopes Ford can get back into the groove he showed during Wisconsin's preseason action.

"Before he got hurt ... he was playing really well," Gard said Monday. "He played really well against Iowa State in the closed scrimmage we had and unfortunately those things happen. Hopefully he can get back to the flow and the pace he was playing with before that (injury)."

Gard said Ford's overall game took a big step forward in the offseason, to the point where Ford was more comfortable on defense, handling the ball, and becoming a more versatile scoring threat.

Sophomore guard Brad Davison carried a heavy load for the Badgers last year - playing point guard with just one healthy shoulder after D'Mitrik Trice went down with a season-ending injury. But with Trice back on the court Davison is learning to play a new role once again for UW: playing off the ball. And while Davison has had flashes for UW this season he had a few off games in the Bahamas - going scoreless in Wisconsin's win over Oklahoma and scoring just five points in the team's loss to Virginia.

Gard said that change - from being the primary counterpart to Ethan Happ on the offensive end to being one part of a more diverse offense - is something Davison will continue to work through as the Badgers move through the rest of their non-conference season.

"I think he's still adjusting to not having to carry the heavy load like he did last a year ago," Gard said Monday. "We obviously have a lot more options and a lot more places we can go to for production. It's been an adjustment period for him. Taking the game as it comes to him is something he's trying to work through."

For his part, Davison said he's trusting the system - and that the more experience he gets the easier playing off the ball will become.

"This year it's a little different - I kind of have to find and make my own opportunities off the ball," Davison said after practice on Monday. "It's something I'm still learning how to do. I've been up and down offensively this season with trying to get shots to fall and trying to find opportunities. But I know that they will come - I'm just going to trust the system, trust the coaching staff, trust my teammates. I'm not really worried about the offensive end - I know that will take care of itself."

The Badgers were looking to bring some energy back in to their playing style this season after a disappointing 2017-18 campaign - and Davison said he thinks the players have have managed to play with a little more swagger through their first six games of the season. Coming off of their close loss to Virginia, the key for the Badgers will be to see if they can play with that newfound attitude every week - even coming off of a tough loss or two.

"There's a swagger and a confidence that I think you can kind of see how people celebrate other people's successes and other people's made shots or their own made shots," Davison said after practice on Monday. "Or even on the defensive end - you see how fired up and energized we are. That's something you didn't see last year. Kind of a culture change, something we're trying to infuse into our guys as we get out there on to that court, just to play with that joy. I don't know if we played with a lot of joy last year. Obviously it makes it a little easier to have joy when you're winning."

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John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.