No.9 Arizona (2-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Wisconsin (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten)

Date/Time – Friday, November 15, 8 p.m. CT

Arena – Kohl Center (16,838)

Watch – Peacock (Noah Eagle and Stephen Bardo)

Radio – Badgers Radio Network (Matt Lepay and Brian Butch), Sirius XM 383, stream online on iHeartRadio.

Series – Wisconsin Leads 5-3 (First Meeting in Madison)

Last Meeting - Arizona won, 98-73, on December 9, 2023, in Tucson, Ariz.

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Twitter: @Badger_Blitz

Betting line: Arizona -4.5

Player to Watch: Tonje tallied double-digit points for the third time in three games, finishing with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals in Sunday’s 87-56 win over Appalachian State. Tonje leads the Badgers and ranks 12th in the Big Ten in scoring, shooting 55.2 percent overall (16-29), 38.5 percent from three (5-13) and 94.1 percent from the line (16-17).

Player to watch: Awaka had 18 points and 15 rebounds for his third career double-double in the Wildcats 102-44 victory over Old Dominion last Saturday. It was his third career double-double. Awaka has as many offensive rebounds (12) as defensive (12) this year.

Four of the eight meetings between the schools have happened in the NCAA tournament. Wisconsin won in 2000, 2014, and 2015 on the way to the Final Four. Arizona won in 2006.

The Badgers are 26-26 against schools currently in the Big 12. This season marks the Wildcats' first year in the conference after leaving the Pac-12.

Before last season, head coaches Greg Gard and Tommy Lloyd had only crossed paths once on the court when both were assistant coaches. In the semifinals of the 2009 Maui Invitational, Gonzaga earned a 74-61 win over Wisconsin.

Tonight’s game vs. No.9 Arizona marks just the second time Wisconsin has faced an AP Top 10 team at home in November. The first came last season against No.9 Tennessee.

Gard-led Badgers have earned five upsets over top 10 teams at the Kohl Center: No.4 Michigan St in 2016, No.6 Purdue in 2018, No.2 Michigan in 2019, No.8 Purdue in 2022, and No.3 Marquette in 2023.

Wisconsin is averaging 83.7 ppg this year, having scored at least 79 points in each of the season's first 3 games for the first time since the 2007-08 season.

Despite increased scoring, UW continues to take care of the basketball. The Badgers are averaging 9.3 turnovers per game this year.

The Wildcats are picked to fifth in the preseason Big 12 poll, finishing 36 points behind first-place Kansas.

Lloyd is 90-20 (.818) in his fourth season at Arizona. His 88 wins are the second-most wins in his first three seasons in NCAA history.

In 110 games under Lloyd, Arizona has registered 20+ assists in a game 54 times. The Wildcats have ranked in the top four nationally in assists per game every season under Lloyd.

The Wildcats jumped out to a 20-2 lead in the first five minutes against Canisius and an 11-0 run against Old Dominion.

Love was named a First Team Preseason All-American by the Associated Press. Through two games, he’s averaging 13.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and has zero turnovers. He’s also connecting at a 38.5% clip from the 3-point line.

Arizona doesn't look as formidable as it did last season when the Badgers were badly beaten in the desert but this year's Wildcats have two wins by a combined 87 points. Is Arizona a product of its schedule or are they legitimately a top-10 team?

The same can be said about Wisconsin, starting the season well off the national radar but is sitting at 3-0 after showing stretches of offensive and defensive brilliance. The Badgers are about to play a team that will take advantage of every bad shot, every bad hedge, and every sloppy turnover, so how sound can they play in those areas?

One big reason Wisconsin lost last season to the Wildcats is because it didn't challenge them in the low post. The Badgers didn't finish around the rim, settled for too many mid-range jump shots, and were unwilling to draw contact to make free throws. This year's team appears more willing to do that after three games, but Arizona's physicality and post aggressiveness is exponentially greater than any team they've played thus far.

I think the Badgers will give Arizona more of a game than last year but I don't know if UW and Crowl are physical enough to battle against a team of Arizona's size for 40 minutes at this point in the season.

Worgull’s Prediction: Arizona by 9

Points off Prediction: 13 (4.3 per game)

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