The bottom half of the Big Ten is having its way with the University of Wisconsin.

Three days after losing to last-place Michigan in Ann Arbor, the Badgers were thoroughly dominated by the league’s 12th-place team in a 78-56 defeat to Rutgers at Jersey Mike’s Arena Saturday afternoon.

Connor Essegian scored a season-high 15 points for the free-falling Badgers (16-8, 8-5 Big Ten), who are quickly falling toward the middle of the conference pack on the heels of their first four-game losing streak since 2018.

Not returning home after Wednesday’s loss at Michigan, Wisconsin hoped its extended stay in New Jersey, and the subsequent practices and defensive tweaks it made over two days, would recharge its season. It turned out disastrous.

Five Scarlet Knights (13-10, 5-7) reached double figures, led by 18 points, seven assists from Jeremiah Williams, and 17 points from Noah Fernandes on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting (5-for-5 3FGs). Not only did Rutgers blitz Wisconsin with a 9-0 run in the opening 2:38, the Scarlet Knights sustained it with nine separate leads of at least nine points by controlling the paint and forcing a bounty of turnovers.

While 22 of Rutgers’ first 27 points came from the paint, a handful came in transition off Wisconsin turnovers. The Badgers had 11 turnovers and 10 field goals in 38 first-half possessions, a 37.0 shooting percentage that led to an ugly .737 points per possession.

Any halftime speech didn’t have much effect, as Wisconsin missed its first seven attempts. By the time UW made its first field goal of the second half after 5:54, the Rutgers lead had swelled to an insurmountable 16.

After trailing by 33 minutes, 1 second at Michigan, UW never held a lead against Rutgers, which registered its largest margin of victory over a ranked opponent.

A.J. Storr added 14 points but was 5-for-16 from the floor. The Badgers shot a season-worst 32.8 percent from the field, including 9-for-31 in the second half (29.0 percent).

What it means: Playing on the East Coast has been a horrendous experience for Wisconsin, losing at Providence and Rutgers with its two worst shooting performances of the season. Beaten by two of the three worst teams in the Big Ten record-wise, Wisconsin has gone from Big Ten title contender to a team fighting just to get a double bye, something unthinkable just 10 days ago in Lincoln.

Star of the game: Clifford Omoruyi isn’t nearly as tall as Purdue’s Zach Edey, but he is just as experienced. Owner of the most double-doubles in Rutgers history, Omoruyi was impactful on offense (13 points), on the glass (13 rebounds), and with his post defense (ties career-high with 8 blocks)

Stat of the game: UW was 5-for-21 from the perimeter, dropping the Badgers to 13-for-59 (22.0 percent).

Reason to be Concerned: UW is giving bad teams plenty of confidence with its porous defense. Rutgers’ 66.4 points per game was last in the Big Ten, its adjusted offensive efficiency (99.5) was ranked 297th per KenPom, and its 27.8 three-point percentage was 342nd, but the Scarlet Knights averaged 1.2 points per possession and were 10-for-17 from three-point range (58.8 percent).

Don’t overlook: The hip injury to freshman John Blackwell had a ripple effect, especially after Max Klesmit sat the final 13:31 with two fouls. Essegian logged 11 minutes, while Isaac Lindsey and Markus Ilver played five to fill the gap but it didn’t yield much production.

What’s next: Wisconsin returns home to face struggling Ohio State at the Kohl Center on Tuesday. The Buckeyes have gone downhill since losing to Wisconsin on January 10, losing five straight and eight of nine entering the weekend to sit in a tie for last in the conference. Their last two losses (at Iowa, vs Indiana) have been by a combined five points.

UW and Ohio State have split its last six meetings, but the Badgers could sweep the season series for the first time since 2019-20.

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