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A month after clinging to the last spot in the polls, the UW men?s basketball team jumped into the nation?s top 10 this week, just in time to face an Iowa squad that defeated the last top 10 team it hosted in the Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season.

Now all the way up to No. 8 in the latest rankings after a pair of wins over Indiana and Minnesota, Wisconsin will travel to Iowa City Wednesday in a matchup of the Big Ten?s two stingiest defenses.

The Badgers (18-3, 8-1) beat the Hawkeyes (11-12, 4-6) earlier this season at the Kohl Center and come into the team?s second meeting hot, having won 12 of their last 13 games. But that?s not to say they don?t expect a challenge from the team that upset then-No. 6 Michigan State 42-36 a week after they had lost to UW.

?They?ve got a fine team,? head coach Bo Ryan said of Iowa in his Monday press conference. ?What?s a fine team? A team that can shoot it, strength with the ball at point.?

It was a low-scoring affair the first time around as Wisconsin beat Iowa 64-51. Though the Hawkeyes haven?t won (or lost) consecutive games since their meeting with the Badgers, Iowa has consistently held its opponents to low offensive numbers while taking them out of their rhythm.

Even with firsthand experience of UI?s tough defense, however, UW has no plans to alter the way it runs its offense.

?You still have to get the ball in the post, get kickouts. You can?t change because they?re a good defensive team,? sophomore Jason Bohannaon said. ?You have to keep running your sets.

?[The game plan] is a little different, but you have to keep doing all the same things. You still have to play Wisconsin basketball.?

Iowa isn?t all defense, however. The Hawkeyes are led by guards Tony Freemen and Josh Johnson, who are averaging 14.6 and 13.4 points per game respectively. In the Hawkeyes’ last game, an 53-48 win over Ohio State, Johnson hit eight 3-pointers while accounting for nearly half of UI?s scoring. Along with Freeman, the two form one of the conference?s most potent backcourts, meaning the Badgers won?t take the Hawkeyes on lightly.

?Freeman is doing a great job with the ball,? Ryan said. ?Their bigs have improved, and defensively, I mean, they?re a good team that?s picked up what they?re supposed to be doing and making it very difficult for the other team.?

In the two teams? Jan. 5 matchup, it was Brian Butch who led the way for the Badgers with 22 points, his second-highest total of the season, while Joe Krabbenhoft chipped in 12. But despite the scoring burst of Butch and Krabbenhoft, Iowa showed its ability to clamp down on opponents, holding Marcus Landry and Wisconsin?s leading scorer Trevon Hughes to just 11 total points on 3-16 shooting.

Meanwhile, Wednesday?s game will also serve as a homecoming for one Badger.

Bohannon is a native of Iowa and for the second consecutive season, the game will be played in surroundings familiar to the guard.

?It?s a great stadium to play in, I?ve got a lot of friends and family there,? Bohannon said. ?It might not sound like that a lot of the time, but it?ll be a fun game to play in.?

In Wisconsin?s game Sunday at Minnesota, the guard hit a pair of 3-pointers after going 0-7 from long distance in his two previous games. With a trip home and a tough defense awaiting him, the guard couldn?t have picked a better time to re-establish himself as a threat behind the arc.

?It?s never really left me,? Bohannon said of his shot. ?They were good shots, and they didn?t fall and you just have to keep shooting. It?s just a matter of time before it starts falling.?