MADISON, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin hasn’t felt complete in the past seven weeks, especially when a key piece of their roster has been forced to watch with a scooter, cast, or a walking boot.

Seeing Kamari McGee back on the court was encouragement enough for the Badgers, but seeing how he picked up where he left off to help Wisconsin register a 78-66 victory over Rutgers means it still has time to salvage its season.

“One thing about this group is we’ve gone through tougher times, and they haven’t broke,” head coach Greg Gard said. “They keep practicing well. I thought we practiced well for three days. I anticipated us to play decently well tonight. They haven’t flinched or felt sorry for themselves. They understand this is part of the journey to get yourself out of the predicament you’re in.”

The victory means Wisconsin (19-11, 11-8 Big Ten) has secured a winning Big Ten record for the 21st time in the last 24 seasons, won 11 conference games for the 12th time in the last 15 seasons, and opened up multiple paths for them to clinch a double bye in next week's Big Ten Tournament.

For the final time this season, here are my takeaways from the Kohl Center

Wisconsin was 14-4 with McGee on the floor and has been 4-7 without him. How can one player averaging just 6.8 minutes and 1.4 points per game make that big of a difference? The junior showed how Thursday.

McGee was perfect in his return to the court, scoring 11 points on a 5-for-5 shooting. He ripped loose balls away from Rutgers all-conference center Clifford Omoruyi, forced guard Jeremiah Williams into tough spots, and brought a ton of energy in only 10 minutes on the floor.

“I tried not to set high expectations,” McGee said. “I wanted to make sure I came in and gave a spark, a boost. I didn’t plan to come in and score as many as I did. I was just thinking about getting back to that rhythm that we had before I got injured.”

Missing 11 games with a toe injury suffered Jan. 19 in UW’s 91-79 victory over Indiana, McGee resisted the urge to press to make up for lost time. Part of the reason was he’s only practiced three days, but mostly because he's a veteran who knows how to play within the flow of the offense.

Checking in with 11:44 remaining in the first half, McGee promptly split two defenders and hit a floater from just outside the lane.

In the second half, McGee hit a corner three-pointer to tie the score at 47 and kept pouring it on, hitting three layups in a six-possession span that helped the Badgers turn a seven-point deficit into a 10-point lead.

After cutting to the rim to get the feed from Chucky Hepburn for one of those layups, he tag-teamed with Hepburn to force a steal on Austin Williams on the defensive end and drew a foul, unleashing an energetic yell after the whistle.

“As far as the defensive end, I felt like I helped create that big spark and create stops when needed,” McGee said. “You’re not going to be able to hold teams to zero, but just getting those important stops, I feel like I helped bring that.”

McGee’s return to the court accelerated midway through last week when he returned to the court to do agility and individual work to start getting his rhythm back. He gradually increased his workload over the three practices leading into Thursday’s game. By his admission, he’s not at 100 percent and still feels some discomfort in his foot.

But he knew he was ready to play after Wednesday's practice, giving the Badgers back their weapon off the bench, which was critical against Rutgers and its defensive pressure.

When UW lost by 22 points in Piscataway, New Jersey, last month, the Badgers didn’t have either McGee or John Blackwell. Having both on the floor Thursday, the Badgers ran a ton of ball-screen-motion offense to try to combat Rutgers’ defensive acumen (fourth nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency).

The result was McGee’s night and Blackwell drawing six fouls, going 9-for-10 from the free throw line, and scoring 17 points, one shy of his career high.

“Against a team like Rutgers, where you have to handle the pressure and counter the pressure, he added a piece that we’ve been missing,” Gard said. “He gave us another dribble attack guy along with Chucky and John (Blackwell). He just brings energy to the floor.

“He’s a pit bull, and that’s what we missed; the toughness, the grittiness, and the feistiness he brings to the floor.”

There have been games this season and instances against teams with talented low-post players that Steven Crowl gets passive, stops attacking, and doesn’t set up Wisconsin’s offense in the low post. It happened against Nebraska, Purdue, and in the first meeting against Rutgers and all-conference center Clifford Omoruyi. At least in the case of Omoruyi, Crowl didn’t let it happen a second time.

While he wasn’t the most efficient he’s been in his career, Crowl attempted a season-high 15 shots (making six) and finished with 17 points. He was credited with 11 rebounds, including a season-high six on the offensive end, three in one sequence that was critical in Wisconsin gaining separation.

With Wisconsin starting to surge, wiping out a seven-point deficit to take a four-point lead, Blackwell’s missed jumper set off a cavalcade of Wisconsin offensive rebounds and missed putbacks. Wisconsin rebounded four straight misses, three by Crowl off his three misses before finally drawing a foul. He made both free throws to push UW’s lead to 55-49. The run eventually swelled to 19-2 and the Badgers had full control.

“I think it’s kind of deflating when teams do that to us,” Crowl said.

Gard continues to emphasize that the Badgers must go to him in the low block and that while pressure may prevent the immediate entry pass, making the extra pass within the offense can help open the paint for Crowl to find a spot.

“He got better in the second half in running to the rim,” Gard said. “(In the) ball screen, just put yourself on the rim and these guys will find you or you’ll clean up the mess that’s there. He did that and was physical and aggressive, which was good.”

Thanks to Michigan State’s 53-49 home victory over Northwestern Wednesday, Wisconsin enters the final weekend of the regular season in control of its path for a Big Ten Tournament double bye, needing one more win to bypass the first and second rounds. Here’s a look at the scenarios.

Wisconsin sits in a three-way tie for third place with Nebraska and the Wildcats. The Wildcats host Minnesota (9-10) Saturday night while Nebraska travels to Michigan (3-16) Sunday morning. If all three schools finish with the same record, the Badgers would claim the No.3 seed based on a 2-1 round-robin record. Nebraska would be the No.4 seed and claim the last double-bye.

A Northwestern loss practically guarantees UW will get a bye no matter Sunday’s result, as the Badgers own the tiebreaker based on head-to-head results. Any multi-team tiebreaker involving Wisconsin and Northwestern would result in the Badgers getting a double bye,

If Northwestern loses and Nebraska and Wisconsin win, the Huskers would be the No.3 seed and the Badgers would be the fourth. The two teams split their regular season meetings, so the next tiebreaker would be their record against the No.1 seed. Nebraska won its only meeting with Purdue while the Badgers lost to the Boilers in early February.

If Wisconsin loses, the Badgers could still get a double bye if Northwestern loses or Nebraska loses AND Michigan State wins at Indiana. In the second scenario, UW, Nebraska, and Michigan State would finish 11-9 and the Badgers would be the No.4 seed based on a 3-1 round-robin record.

If Wisconsin loses, Northwestern, Nebraska, and Iowa wins over Illinois, and Michigan State loses, UW ties Iowa for fifth. In this scenario, since the head-to-head matchup is tied and neither team would have beaten Purdue, the tiebreaker goes to the record against the No.2 seed (Illinois). Iowa would be No.5 and UW would be No.6, the lowest UW could drop.

.943 - Points per possession for Rutgers against Wisconsin.

18 - Turnovers forced by Wisconsin, the most since forcing 21 against Robert Morris on November 17.

14 - Steals for Wisconsin, the team's highest total since registering 16 against California on December 2, 2012. Hepburn had five steals, matching his career high.

65 - Hepburn had five of Wisconsin's 14 steals to match his career high and bring his season total to 65, matching Devin Harris (2003) for the fifth-highest single-season mark in program history.

70 - Keeping it under 70 is the magic number this season for Wisconsin, which improved to 15-0 when holding teams to 70 or fewer.

9 - Wisconsin hit nine three-pointers on 19 attempts, the most perimeter shots it has made since making 10 at Nebraska on February 1.

231 - In his final home game, Tyler Wahl finished with three points, six rebounds, and four steals. He had three offensive rebounds to give him 231 for his career, tying him with current UW assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft for sixth on the career list.

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