No. 11 Wisconsin (16-7, 8-4 Big Ten) at Rutgers (12-10, 4-7)

Game: Saturday, Feb. 10 in Jersey Mike's Arena in Pascataway, NJ

Time: 11:00 A.M. CT

Watch: BTN

Listen: 1310 WIBA AM and 101.5 FM (Matt Lepay and Brian Butch on the call); stream online on iHeartRadio

Prediction: Wisconsin 63, Rutgers 61

Follow Online: The Badgers' Den

Twitter: @Badger_Blitz

Betting line: Wisconsin -3.5 (according to ESPN BET)

The Badgers have hit a skid. They’ve lost three games in a row and are now looking for any opportunity to get back on their feet.

The first two losses were somewhat understandable — Nebraska is lethal at home, while Purdue is one of the best teams in the country. But the recent defeat at the hands of Michigan was abhorrent. The Wolverines are at the bottom of the Big Ten, and held control the entire game against the Badgers.

Wisconsin would need a miracle to win the Big Ten at this point. Regardless, they should turn their focus to building some momentum with the NCAA Tournament in sight.

Unluckily for Wisconsin, the Scarlet Knights might be the last team they would want to play in the middle of a rough stretch.

They have one of the worst offenses in the country — dead last in the Big Ten in points per game (66.4), field goal percentage (38.8) and 3-point percentage (27.8) — but they also happen to have an incredible defense.

Rutgers specializes in rock fights, which Wisconsin has little experience in this season. The Badgers have only played in three games this season where neither team reached 70 points. That’s been the case in each of Rutgers’ four most recent games.

This is also a Scarlet Knights team without any clear individual threats on offense. Leading scorer Aundre Hyatt, averages just 11.4 points per game and has scored 15 total in his past three.

Their best player is likely Clifford Omoruyi, the 6-foot-11 defensive-minded center who’s fourth in the Big Ten in rebounds per game (8.9) and first in blocks (3.0).

Yet they are coming off of back-to-back wins against Michigan and Maryland, mostly due to the efforts of Jeremiah Williams, who didn’t play for over two years due to an Achilles injury and a gambling suspension.

But Williams returned to the lineup and made an immediate impact, playing for 29 minutes and scoring 10 points in the narrow victory over Michigan. He looked even more comfortable against Maryland, scoring 14 points on 55.6% shooting.

The goal for Wisconsin must be to re-salvage their offensive identity, and that begins with their best player.

A.J. Storr has scored at least 20 points on 50% shooting in three of his past four games. Yet during some of Wisconsin’s stagnate stretches, Storr looks as if he’s trying to save the Badgers single handedly. It’s not uncommon for him to take an erratic shot or drive too aggressively and lose control of the ball. But it’s ultimately because Storr can’t rely on anybody for help.

Wisconsin’s low-post duo — consisting of Tyler Wahl and Steven Crowl — has become allergic to playing consistent basketball.

The recent decline of Crowl’s offensive game can somewhat be attributed to fouls. He’s picked up four fouls in each of the past three games, and has scored just 12 total points in that span. But if a player is struggling with fouls this consistently, the issue is probably them.

Wahl, who entered the season as the most experienced and perhaps most valuable player, is now strictly complementary. In the past nine games, he has finished with more than seven field goal attempts just once — when he scored 20 against Purdue.

It also doesn’t help that they’re playing Omoruyi. In last year’s game between these two teams, Wahl and Crowl put up a total of 15 points on 6-13 shooting.

Long story short — this isn’t the team that Wisconsin would want to play during a skid.

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