Preview: No. 21 Wisconsin hits the road for battle with last-place Nebraska

No. 21 Wisconsin (14-6, 8-5) vs. Nebraska (4-10, 0-7)

Game: Wednesday, Feb. 10 inside the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Neb.

Time: 8:30 PM

Watch: BTN (Kevin Kugler and Shon Morris)

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

Follow Online: The Badgers' Den

Twitter: @Badger_Blitz

Wisconsin hits the road Wednesday night for a meeting with last-place Nebraska. Following a discouraging performance against Illinois, the matchup represents an opportunity to get back on track against a Cornhuskers team that has yet to notch a win during conference play.

Nebraska is coming off a pair of losses to Michigan State and Minnesota during a three-day span. The consecutive defeats are part of the six-game skid the Cornhuskers are on during conference play.

Wednesday's meeting will be Nebraska's third of four games this week. The stretch of contests comes as a result of a COVID-19 outbreak within the program that forced the postponement of four games in the month of January.

Nebraska's most recent contest was a 79-61 road loss to Minnesota on Monday. The biggest news to come out of the game happened before tip off when Fred Hoiberg opted to bench Teddy Allen, the team's leader in points (17.2) and steals (1.8) per game.

Hoiberg called it a coach's decision and didn't provide much clarity as far as Allen's availability against UW.

“It’s a decision that I made before the game. That’s it," Hoiberg said following the loss to Minnesota. "We went with the other guys tonight. I thought that we had great effort from our team.

"We’ll move past it, we’ll reevaluate everything again tomorrow when we get back to Lincoln and meet as a staff and figure out our prep together. Tonight it was a coach's decision and we’ll reevaluate everything again tomorrow.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, there has been no update on Allen's status.

If Allen is sidelined once again, the attention turns to the trio of Dalano Banton, Trey McGowens and Lat Mayen. McGowens has finished in double figures in five of the last seven games, though he is coming off a 2-of-9 shooting day against Minnesota. Banton leads the team in rebounds (6.6), assists (4.9) and blocks (1.0) per game. His 4.9 assists per game is fourth best in the Big Ten. Mayen had a career-high 15 points against Minnesota where he shot 5-of-9 from the field, including 3-of-6 from deep. The career-night is the third game in a row Mayen has finished in double figures.

For Wisconsin, Wednesday's contest will serve as an opportunity to bounce back after its implosion in Champaign. The team shot an abysmal 4-of-24 from deep.

Continuing a tough shooting stretch, Brad Davison failed to register a point for just the fifth time in his career. Over the past five contests, Davison is just 9-of-42 from the field and 8-of-30 from three-point range. Aleem Ford's numbers don't look much better. The redshirt senior finished with just two points Saturday night, marking the third time in the last six games he has finished with no more than three points.

Micah Potter wasn't exempt from the team's struggles. He was a frigid 4-of-12 from the field, which included 0-for-5 from three. Potter is 0-for-9 from deep over the past three games.

"Absolutely. Shooting is 90 percent mental, and I mean that with full honesty. It's 90 percent mental," Potter said Tuesday when asked if a cold shooting touch can be contagious. "Seeing one go in for another teammate gets the team going a little bit, so the next one will have a better chance of going in. I believe that 100 percent. It’s one of those things. Sometimes you’re going to have bad shooting nights. We had one against Illinois.

“Every single shot I took, I liked. Watching the film, coach told me every single three I took, he liked. They were open shots, they were inside out, just didn’t fall. It was one of those nights. I liked them all. There were a couple of them that I thought were going in. The first two I thought were good.

"I was in the gym and I shot after we got back from Illinois... I was frustrated after the game because I know I am a much better shooter than that”

D'Mitrik Trice, who led Wisconsin with 22 points against Illinois, will be looking to lead the way against Nebraska.

"I felt like I was aggressive in practice this week and looking for my shot a little bit more early on in possessions. And after I see a couple of them go through it just kind of feeds into the rest of the game," Trice said following the loss at Illinois. "Definitely finding other guys is going to be the key for me moving forward and getting guys to play on the same level and same page as me is going to be my key focal point."

Wisconsin leads the all-time series, 19-14, including a 7-6 record away from home. The Badgers are currently riding a five-game winning streak against Nebraska.