Wisconsin vs. Northwestern: how to watch, game preview and open thread

The No. 24 Wisconsin Badgers (19-10 overall, 12-6 B1G) welcome the Northwestern Wildcats (7-21 overall, 2-16 B1G) to the Kohl Center for the final home game of the season for UW. It is senior night, Pritzl Day and a chance for the Badgers to stake a claim to a share of the B1G lead with one game remaining on the schedule.

Northwestern’s only two conference wins on the season have come against Nebraska, so they aren’t exactly what one might call “world beaters.” The Badgers, however, can’t get caught up in the emotion of the evening and come out flat against a team they are clearly superior to.

Hopefully the balanced nature of the Wisconsin offense will offset any potential struggles that one or two players have, but this is not a game to overlook despite how putrid Northwestern has been all season.

How to watch/listen

TV: BTN, 8:00 p.m., CT, Chris Vosters, Jess Settles

Streaming: FOX Sports app

Radio/Satellite: 1310 AM, Sirius/XM 372; Matt Lepay, Mike Lucas

Live stats: Here!

Arena: Kohl Center, Madison, Wisconsin

Line: Wisconsin -12.5

KenPom Wisconsin win percentage: 89%

Fun facts (according to the media guides)

• Wisconsin entered the AP Top 25 rankings for the first time this season, checking in at No. 24. The Badgers have been ranked in 17 of the last 18 seasons.
• UW is 7-1 vs. teams in the top 26 of the NET rankings.
• UW has eight Quad 1 wins, the most in the Big Ten.
• The Badgers need one win to reach the 20-win milestone for the 16th time in the last 18 years, equaling Michigan State for the most 20-win seasons in the Big Ten over that span.

• Greg Gard has 99 career wins. A win over Northwestern would make him the second-fastest Wisconsin coach to 100 wins in the NCAA tournament era (157 games). Only Bo Ryan reached 100 faster (138 games).
• Gard’s mark of 99-57 (.635) is the third-highest win percentage in program history.
• During their current six game winning streak, Wisconsin is shooting 42.3% from 3-point range and averaging 11.5 triples per game.
• Five Badgers are averaging double figures during the winning streak (Brad Davison 14.7, D’Mitrik Trice and Brevin Pritzl 11.8, Micah Potter 11.7 and Aleem Ford 10.3) and Nate Reuvers is close, averaging 9.8 points per game over the last six.
• Wednesday’s game marks the 184th meeting between Wisconsin and Northwestern in a series that dates back to 1910. UW leads the all-time series between the schools, 118-65.
• The first game in Kohl Center history was a 56-33 UW win over NU on Jan. 17, 1998. The Badgers own a 15-3 mark against the Wildcats in the Kohl Center’s history.
• UW has won the last three meetings against the NU and 18 of the last 23 in the series overall.
• A win on Wednesday and NU will be the lone Big Ten team to beat Wisconsin three times at the Kohl Center during the Greg Gard era.
• Northwestern moved into 13th place with the win over Nebraska. (LMAOOOOO, I’m sorry, but this was actually included in their game notes.)

• NU has 298 turnovers this season, the second-fewest in the Big Ten and eighth-best mark nationally. NU ranks second among league teams and 13th nationally with 10.6 turnovers per game.
• Northwestern is the least experienced team in the Big Ten Conference.

Probable starters

Wisconsin

• D’Mitrik Trice, redshirt junior, guard, No. 0
• Brevin Pritzl, redshirt senior, guard, No. 1

• Aleem Ford, redshirt junior, forward, No. 2
• Brad Davison, junior, guard, No. 34
• Nate Reuvers, junior, forward, No. 35

Northwestern

• Boo Buie, freshman, guard, No. 0
• Miller Kopp, sophomore, forward, No. 10
• Pat Spencer, redshirt senior, guard, No. 12
• Ryan Young, redshirt freshman, center, No. 15
• Robbie Beran, freshman, forward, No. 31