The Wisconsin men’s basketball team (13-3, 4-1) will look to snap a recent two-game road losing streak when it heads to Columbus, Ohio, to meet Jim O’Brien’s Ohio State Buckeyes (9-9, 1-4).

The Badgers have won only twice this season away from the friendly confines of the Kohl Center, notching non-conference victories over Penn and Ohio. UW has lost three road contests, most recently falling in West Lafayette to Gene Keady and the Boilermakers.

At home, however, Wisconsin has been more than impressive in recording back-to-back wins over Michigan and Illinois in the past week. Ohio State, on the other hand, is in a state of disarray. The Buckeyes have dropped five of their last six games and have only beaten the struggling Minnesota Gophers in Big Ten play. They have dropped back-to-back games to Indiana at home and Iowa on the road.

Adding to O’Brien’s troubles has been an apparent rift with the team’s best player, junior guard Tony Stockman. Stockman, who leads the team in scoring at 12.8 points per game, was told to stay home from the team’s trip to Iowa City, a game the Buckeyes lost 79-65. Whatever problems Stockman had with O’Brien appear to be settled, as Ohio State expects to have the Clemson transfer back in the lineup for tonight’s game.

In addition to his shooting touch, Stockman ranks third in the conference in steals at 2.05 per game.

Besides Stockman, Ohio State has just one player averaging double-digit points per game, sophomore guard J.J. Sullinger, who contributes 10.4 points per game.

Starting alongside Sullinger in the Buckeye backcourt is 6-foot-1 veteran Brandon Fuss-Cheatham. The junior from Beaver Falls, Penn., gives OSU 4.9 points per game. Freshman Nick Dials contributes 5.1 points per contest in his first season in Columbus.

Up front, Ohio State is led by one of the tallest players in the league, 7-foot-0 senior captain Velimir Radinovic. The Toronto native has started since his sophomore year. In his final season as a Buckeye, he averages 9.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.

Easing Radinovic’s workload in the post has been a healthy Terence Dials. A redshirt sophomore, Dials missed the bulk of last season due to injury. A stress fracture in his lumbar spine caused him to sit out Ohio State’s final 26 games and take a medical redshirt.

Now back and healthy, he is pacing OSU on the boards, pulling down 6.7 rebounds per contest and tossing in 9.1 points per game.

Giving the frontcourt help off the bench is 6-foot-7 McDonald’s All-American freshman forward Ivan Harris.

The two teams last met March 14, 2003, in the first round of the Big Ten tournament. A scrappy Ohio State squad upset then-No. 18 Wisconsin 58-50. The Buckeyes lead the all-time series 80-56 and hold a 49-17 advantage over the Badgers at home.