After earning back-to-back conference victories over the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Purdue Boilermakers, the Michigan Wolverines enter Wednesday's contest poised to jump into a first place tie with the Badgers. Yet, the men in maize and blue have not won at the Kohl Center since 1999, and if recent trends continue, the Wolverines (4-1 Big Ten, 16-4 overall) will have a long flight back to Ann Arbor.
The home team has emerged victorious in eight of the past nine meetings between the two schools. Michigan has also struggled on the road this season. UM lost by 37 points at UCLA and by 14 points at Purdue.
The Badgers (5-0, 19-1) are flying high, boasting a No. 2 ranking and a nation-leading 15-game winning streak.
Despite being only one victory short of tying the 1915-'16 Badgers for greatest start in school history, UW assistant coach Howard Moore said the team does not worry about its ranking.
""For a team, it's good that people acknowledge that and it's great for a fan base and the alumni and the students here,"" Moore said. ""But we're not concerned about that. We just want to get to playing good basketball, pick our defense up and do the best job we can do on the floor everyday.""
One reason the Badgers might not be focused on their ranking is that even the poorer teams in the conference have battled late into the game against UW.
""The Big Ten is always tough,"" senior guard Kammron Taylor said. ""It's, I think, the most physical conference in the country. Every team has good players. They get a chance to watch you for two months and learn your tendencies.""
The Badgers have not won a game by a double-digit margin since their 68-45 romp over Minnesota. Through it all, however, senior forward Alando Tucker has found a way to keep UW undefeated in conference play.
Whether it was his thunderous dunk that seemed to wake up the Badgers at Northwestern, his shot off his thigh against Ohio State, or his high jump over the Illinois defense to set up a game clinching shot for Taylor, Tucker has continually made big plays late in the game.
""It [reached] points in the games when I knew, especially against Northwestern, we needed a key play to turn the game around and get momentum shifted to our side,"" Tucker said. ""Key times in games and situations ... I know I have to do that.""
Because of the Big Ten's 16-game schedule, the Badgers and Wolverines meet only once for the second straight season. Thus, the Wednesday-evening matchup represents UW's only chance to avenge its 85-76 loss to Michigan a year ago.
Senior guard Dion Harris leads the Wolverines with 13.4 points per contest, and senior center Courtney Sims averages 12 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
Defensively, UM has held its opponents under 60 points in 14 of its 16 victories.
Unlike last year, Marcus Landry and Greg Stiemsma will be available off the bench for UW head coach Bo Ryan. Landry has proven to be a clutch performer in his sophomore season, and Stiemsma broke out for a career high 12 points in the Badgers' 71-64 victory over the Illinois Fighting Illini.
With the Wolverines hungry to dethrone the first place Badgers, Tucker said he and his teammates are not worried about rankings or other ""hoopla"" off the court.
""We really try not to think about it,"" Tucker said. ""I think a lot of times when players and teams get to looking at rankings and hearing what commentators are saying they get confident and relaxed and that's one of the things we don't want to do. We want to stay on the attack every game.""
