Following yet another heartbreaking defeat against Purdue, the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team looks to end its five-game losing streak tomorrow evening at Welsh-Ryan Arena against the Northwestern Wildcats.

Wisconsin’s loss on Jan. 27 marked the first time in Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan’s career at UW that he has lost five in a row and the first time he has lost consecutive home games.

The Badgers (12-8, 3-5 Big Ten), whose last victory came against the Wildcats (10-7, 2-5 Big Ten) Jan. 7, will be looking to shut down a Northwestern team that has won three of its last four games, including a huge upset over previously No. 7 Michigan State in East Lansing.

Leading by five points with just under five minutes left against Purdue, the Badgers broke down again, leaving them with another distressing loss against a conference opponent.

“Every loss in devastating,” Wisconsin forward Joe Krabbenhoft said. “I don’t want to make it sound like someone should feel bad for us or anything like that — we feel bad enough the way it is. …It’s hard, it takes a lot out of us.”

After allowing the Boilermakers to shoot nearly 60 percent last Tuesday, the Badgers will be looking to return to the strong defensive play they displayed in their last match against the Wildcats.

“As a team, we’ve got to make sure that we just buckle down and take pride in our defense,” sophomore forward Keaton Nankivil said. “What’s been winning us games over the past years has really been our defense, and that’s just what we need to focus on.”

Now Wisconsin will travel to Northwestern, where the Badgers have won their last two contests against the Wildcats. Nevertheless, their current stretch shows just how little history will play a factor in the game.

“If you’re off the target, you have to get back to the basics,” Ryan said. “[The Wildcats] are playing well. They’re playing with more confidence, their timing is really good and they’re hitting shots.”

Since their 29-point loss to the Badgers just over three weeks ago, Northwestern has clearly been improving. Aside from beating Michigan State, the Wildcats also beat Minnesota, a team that beat Wisconsin at the Kohl Center on Jan. 15.

“They’re a good team; they’re executing well and shooting the ball better,” freshman guard Jordan Taylor said. “We’re just going to worry about what we want to do and take them out of their rhythm offensively.”

With five consecutive losses and four straight coming by an average of four points, the Badgers have not been able to shut down opponents late in games or hit the key shot to keep the team in the mix. While some players on Wisconsin — particularly Jason Bohannon and Jon Leuer — have been struggling from the field, Nankivil and Taylor believe the team’s confidence has taken a hit.

“We’ve played five games, but we’ve had a lot more practices,” Nankivil said. “A lot of our guys are able to pick up their confidence in practice. …I think one win will boost our confidence a lot and we’ll take it from there.”

“I think it looks worse because we’re going through this five-game losing streak,” Taylor added. “It just stands out more, but we’ll be fine; everybody will bring it together when things start to fall.”

Regardless of their recent struggles, the Badgers have still had some bright spots, including Nankivil’s 21-point, 5-for-5 3-point shooting performance against Purdue. While Bohannon and Leuer have only made eight of their last 37 shots, Nankivil’s outburst was a bit of a relief for the Badgers, who have been in need of scoring from their starting power forward.

“It wasn’t as much confidence as it was the way Marcus (Landry) was going to the basket,” Nankivil said. “He drew so much attention and just creating open looks. …I felt like it was my responsibility to take those shots so they couldn’t double Marcus, and luckily they were going in.

The Badgers are now No. 1 in strength of schedule in the nation, and No. 29 in RPI according to RealTimeRPI.com. Even with the losing streak, they aren’t worried about their future this season and the uncertainty of an NCAA Tournament bid.

“I’d say there’s a sense of urgency, but we’ve still got 10 conference games to play,” Taylor said. “We can make a run here and we’ll be fine. …We’ve got good players and great coaching, so it’s something we’ll get through.”