If they can help it, University of Wisconsin’s women’s basketball team is looking to avoid playing in the first round of the Big Ten tournament next week. To do so, the team must position itself for a top-10 regular season conference finish.

The expansion of the Big Ten to 14 teams this summer reconfigured the men’s and women’s basketball conference championship tournament, which will have an additional day. All 14 teams still compete in the now five-day tournament, but the bottom four teams must play Wednesday while the top four teams have a bye until Friday.

The Badgers (8-18, 4-12 Big Ten) are currently tied for 11th with Indiana. Purdue and Penn State round out the bottom four. However, Wisconsin is only a game behind Michigan State and Illinois; those two teams played each other Wednesday night with Michigan State coming out on top 67-65.

Therefore, because Wisconsin owns the head-to-head advantage against the Illini, it will  have a chance to propel itself out of the first day of tournament play.

The first obstacle in moving out of the bottom four is No. 17 Iowa on Thursday night on the road.

The Hawkeyes (21-6, 12-4 Big Ten) took down Wisconsin 87-75 in an offensive shootout at the Kohl Center on Feb. 8.

Iowa senior guard Samantha Logic, a Racine, Wis. native, scored a career-high 30 points on 12 of 18 shooting that game.

“She’s kind of their key, and we let her get off last time we played them,” Wisconsin junior guard Tessa Cichy said. “Containing her is the key because she’s kind of their cog; she distributes to the rest of their shooters.”

Logic wasn’t the only player in that Feb. 8 game to set a career-high; Cichy did as well, with 20 points on 8 of 13 shooting.

“We worked against their zone pretty good,” Cichy said. “I got a lot of shots in the middle. We worked the ball around really well. The goal is to keep doing what we’ve been doing offensively.”

Logic is only a small part in the Iowa scoring machine, which features four starters averaging more than 12 points per game: Ally Disterhoft (15.4), Melissa Dixon (15.0), Bethany Doolittle (13.4) and Logic (12.8). The Hawkeye offense ranks third in the Big Ten, averaging 79.4 points per night. Wisconsin’s defense allows 69 points a game.

Wisconsin head coach Bobbie Kelsey said in her news conference Monday that Iowa’s depth and balanced scoring makes them difficult to defend.

“Iowa’s tough, but if we do what we’re supposed to do, we’ll have a very good chance to win the game,” Kelsey said. “They’re on the skid but they’re going to come out fighting.”

After starting conference play 12-2, Iowa lost two straight on the road by double digits against Minnesota (93-80) and Ohio State (100-82).

Wisconsin lost five in a row and nine of its last 10, with only three of those losses coming by 10 points or less.

The Hawkeyes are a perfect 14-0 when defending their home court this season. However, Kelsey noted that the Big Ten offers the opportunity for any team to beat another on any given night.

“That’s the good thing about the Big Ten,” Kelsey said. “It’s not one team’s championship to lose or win or one game … Anybody can beat anybody.”

The Badgers final game of the season is Sunday on the road at Penn State. Tip off is Thursday in Iowa City, Iowa at 7 p.m.

Wisconsin (8-18, 4-12 Big Ten)

Probable Starters: G Nicole Bauman (15.0 ppg), G Dakota Whyte (10.9 ppg), G Tessa Cichy (9.3 ppg), F Jacki Gulczynski (9.2 ppg), F Cassie Rochel (6.7 ppg)

Key Reserves: Malayna Johnson, AnnMarie Brown, Cayla McMorris

Last time out: 86-83 overtime loss to Northwestern

Iowa (21-6, 12-4 Big Ten)

Probable Starters: G Ally Disterhoft (15.4 ppg), G Melissa Dixon (15.0 ppg), G Samanta Logic (12.8 ppg), G Whitney Jennings (9.1 ppg), C Bethany Doolittle (13.4 ppg)

Key Reserves: Kali Peschel, Chase Cole

Last time out: 100-82 loss at Ohio State