Preview: Wisconsin visits rival Minnesota in Border Battle

Wisconsin (13-9, 6-5) vs. Minnesota (11-10, 5-6)

Game: Wednesday, Feb. 5, at Williams Arena

Time: 8:00 p.m. CT

Watch: BTN (Cory Provus and Stephen Bardo)

Listen: Badger Radio Network (Matt Lepay and Mike Lucas)

Follow Online: The Badgers' Den

Twitter: @Badger_Blitz, @alow_33

After a tumultuous week that saw the departure of second-leading scorer Kobe King and a one-game suspension for Brad Davison, Wisconsin capped off the craziness with a win over Michigan State. The 64-63 home victory over the Spartans showed the resiliency this team has in the face of overwhelming adversity.

Saturday against MSU, the story was the Badgers doing it by committee, offensively, while also getting key stops. Aleem Ford provided an excellent boost with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field. Junior Nate Reuvers, who led Wisconsin's offense with a team-high 15 points, was also strong on that end. But the defense down the stretch was the story. UW held Michigan State's potent offense to zero points from 4:37 left in the game until there were just 11 seconds on the clock. That four-minute stretch sealed a desperately-needed Wisconsin win.

Minnesota provides a very different type of challenge for the Badgers. Can UW find its rhythm on the road? A battle at "The Barn" will answer that question. The Badgers come in as losers of three straight away from the Kohl Center in the Big Ten.

Minnesota has lived up to the gaudy Big Ten home statistics this season. The Golden Gophers are the perfect example of a team that looks completely different home and away. Richard Pitino and his group come in at 4-1 at home in the Big Ten, with just a 1-5 record on the road in the nation's toughest conference.

The Gophers are led offensively by a pair of sophomore studs. The man in the middle is leading-scorer Daniel Oturu, who has grown this year into one of the most efficient low-post scorers in the conference. Nearly doubling his scoring average to 19.7 points per game, the Woodbury, Minn., native converts nearly 60 percent of the time from the field. The sophomore is a walking double-double and would certainly be more firmly in the discussion for conference player of the year if not for Luka Garza's incredible season at Iowa.

At the guard position, sophomore Marcus Carr has had a solid year. The Canadian is a true triple-double threat as he averages over five rebounds and over five assists to go along with 15.6 points.

Wisconsin has won nine of its last 10 against Minnesota, including four in a row on the road, according to UW game notes. Former Badgers' assistant coach Rob Jeter is in his second season on Minnesota’s staff.