Michigan Vs. Wisconsin
Wisconsin has struggled on the road, but it begins a crucial stretch at a venue where it has played well recently.
The 12th-ranked Badgers look to win their fourth straight road game against Michigan when the teams meet Wednesday night.
Wisconsin (20-6, 10-4 Big Ten) stayed undefeated at home with a 76-66 win over Penn State on Sunday for its fifth victory in six games. The Badgers jumped out to a 32-19 lead at the break, shot 54.3 percent overall and were led by 22 points each from Jon Leuer and Keaton Nankivil.
Nankivil, who scored 12 points in the previous two games, hit all five 3-pointers and finished 8 of 9 from the field. The 22 points were a season high despite rolling his right ankle early in the first half.
"He's a rhythm shooter and when he gets in a rhythm, he's as good a shooter as anybody in the country. Look what he did tonight," Leuer said. "We knew just get him the ball."
The bigger challenge for the Badgers, who are in third place in the Big Ten, will be carrying that success away from Madison. Wisconsin is 3-5 on the road, where it's averaging 11.7 fewer points than at home.
A big reason for the difference is the team's 3-point shooting. At the Kohl Center, the Badgers are connecting on 44.3 percent of their shots from beyond the arc while on the road they are hitting 31.4 percent.
"The law of statistics says there is going to be one game where we get hot on the road too," Leuer said. "We have too many good shooters, too many good players for that to continue. We'll see in the next game how we do, but I definitely think that we're going to find a rhythm on the road as well."
Wisconsin will play three of its final four games on the road, ending the season at conference leader and second-ranked Ohio State on March 6.
While the Badgers have struggled on the road, they've won their last three visits to Ann Arbor by an average of 15.3 points. Wisconsin easily defeated Michigan at home 66-50 on Jan. 5.
However, the Wolverines (17-11, 7-8) have played better recently, winning four of five and six of eight. They rallied for a 75-72 overtime win over Iowa on Saturday behind freshman Tim Hardaway Jr., who scored a career-high 30 points - 22 in the second half.
Hardaway, the first Michigan freshman to score 30 points in a game since Daniel Horton in 2003, is averaging 22.0 points over the last three games. He shot 9 of 14 from the field against the Hawkeyes, making 5 of 7 3-pointers to earn Big Ten freshman of the week honors.
"He just lets the game come to him a little bit more and that's why you're seeing the spike we're having with him," coach John Beilein said.
Michigan averaged 61.7 points during a 1-6 start to conference play but has reached at least 73 points in three of the last four games.
The Wolverines have dropped six straight home games against teams in the Top 25, including four this season. They beat then-No. 25 Michigan State 61-57 in East Lansing on Jan. 27.
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