After dropping a heartbreaker on the road to Purdue, the Wisconsin Badgers (11-3, 2-1) look to get back on the winning track against the Michigan Wolverines (10-4, 1-2) at home in the Kohl Center, where they have won 22 consecutive contests.

Tommy Amaker’s Wolverines arrive in Madison trying to avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season. Michigan began conference play with a solid 78-54 drubbing of Northwestern at home, before dropping consecutive games to Indiana at home, then in-state rival Michigan State in East Lansing.

In his third season leading the Maize and Blue, Amaker leads a young and talented pack of Wolverines that features only two seniors, and only one upperclassman starter. That lone upperclassman starter, however, is the multi-talented senior Bernard Robinson, Jr. The 6-foot-6 wing leads the team in nearly every major statistical category: minutes played (33.1 per game), as well as scoring (13.6 points per game), rebounding (5.8 per game), assists (3.5 per game) and steals (2.3 per game). Despite his early season exploits, however, Robinson has yet to attempt a free throw in Big Ten play.

Robinson is not Michigan’s only perimeter threat. Joining him in the starting lineup is the dangerous sophomore backcourt combination of point guard Daniel Horton and Lester Abram. Horton averages 12.1 points per game this season, while also adding 3.0 assists and 2.4 rebounds.

The 6-foot-6 Abram contributes a nearly identical scoring average of 12.4. In Michigan’s defeat of Northwestern, he turned in a perfect first half, connecting on all five of his field goal attempts, three of which were from behind the arc, as well as all six free throws. He finished the game with 27 points.

Another young Wolverine, freshman Dion Harris, rounds out Amaker’s backcourt rotation. Capable of playing point guard, shooting guard and small forward, the 6-foot-4 Harris gives UM 10.0 points per game off the bench.

“They’re talented, they’re long, they’re quick,” UW head coach Bo Ryan said of the Wolverine guards. “Horton is still one of the best point guards around. Sometimes your shooting goes up, your percentages will go up and down, but Michigan presents, with a freshman in Harris … boy, can he shoot it.”

While the backcourt provides most of Michigan’s scoring, the Wolverines’ roster also boasts six players 6-foot-8 or taller. Anchoring the frontcourt are 6-foot-11 forward Courtney Sims and 6-foot-9 center Graham Brown. The skinny Sims, who weighs just 230 pounds, leads the team with 2.14 blocked shots per game this season.

J.C. Mathis, Chris Hunter and Brent Petway also see time in Amaker’s frontcourt shuffle.

The Wolverines will have the added incentive of playing for an NCAA Tournament berth at season’s end, something they did not have last year due to several NCAA rules violations.

“I think what’s important for Tommy, as a coach when he’s talking to his players and getting them ready, is the carrot is out there now,” Ryan said. “They can go to postseason play.”

If both teams hold true to form, tonight’s matchup should feature solid defense. Wisconsin has held 11 of their 14 opponents to under 64 points this year, while Michigan has held 11 of 14 foes to under 66 points. As a team, the Wolverines are tops in the league in steals at 8.50 per game, and blocked shots at 5.42 per contest.

In the schools’ last ten meetings, Michigan holds a slight 6-4 advantage over Wisconsin. Last season, the home squad won both meetings, with Michigan edging out a 66-65 win in Ann Arbor on Jan. 8, and the Badgers coming back to blow out the Wolverines 73-42 Feb. 26 at the Kohl Center. That victory was the third in a row for UW over UM at the friendly confines of the Kohl Center. The Badgers have won those three games by an average of 22.4 points.