MADISON - As the Wisconsin Badgers wrapped up practice Friday, a chorus of clapping quickly spread through the The Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion.

Players and coaches were laughing, smiling and exchanging high-fives after a hard day's work. To an outsider, one would expect the opposite, especially for a team boasting just four conference wins, a sub-.500 record through Feb. 9 and a frustrated fanbase demanding results.

There are few guarantees in basketball, but if a team wants to win the game on the court, a fantastic place to start is focusing on the mental game.

"You got to have fun," sophomore guard Brevin Pritzl said after practice on Friday. "You can’t always be super tight and that’s what makes it easier sometimes, having a little fun with it.”

And if his recent play was any indication, Pritzl had a blast on Thursday night.

In Wisconsin's 78-69 win against Illinois, he tallied 28 minutes, scored 15 points and was perfect from the charity stripe (6-6) as well as from downtown (3-3 3 Pt.).

“We competed really well," he said. "At times, we let a couple offensive rebounds away that we would have liked to have gotten back.”

A return to form is just what Pritzl and the Badgers need, especially with the team's struggles this season. In fact, Pritzl stresses the only way to overcome a slump is to power through it.

“It’s basketball,” Pritzl described of his up-and-down season. “Just keep shooting. You know, just like ‘just keep swimming’? But I’m going to ‘just keep shooting’ and going to let it roll.”

When Pritzl is shooting well, it's hard to find someone better on UW's roster. He has shot 50 percent or better from the field in 10 games this season, combining for 130 total points. Additionally, he's recorded eight games with the previously mentioned constraints from three-point range.

“Staying locked in. Keep working in practice and keep trying to elevate our team’s play," Pritzl said of his production. "That’s always the goal, you know, to try and keep moving forward every game.”

Up next, Wisconsin hosts No. 20 Michigan at the Kohl Center on Sunday, with tip-off slated for 11:00 a.m., a game that Pritzl described as "a challenge."

However, Sunday's mid-morning start time also brought Pritzl a sigh of relief.

"I mean, it’s helped for me with homework,” Pritzl said of why he enjoys playing early games on Sunday. “It gives me a lot of time to get schoolwork done…it’s nice. I wish it was a little later, like two o’clock because then you can sleep in a little longer.”

Whether he is on the court or in the classroom, Pritzl arrives prepared and ready to face the challenge at hand.

And if that isn't a reason to clap, then nothing is.

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Jonathan Mills covers Wisconsin football and basketball for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @therealJMlLLS.