The 16th ranked Badgers make the trip across Lake Michigan  to take on Michigan at Crisler Arena(Saturday 4pm CBS). Wisconsin is 17-5 with a 7-3 conference mark, while our Wolverines  sit at 11-11 with a 4-6 conference record.

The one thing that gives me hope in this game, is the Wolverines 9-3 record at home, and Wisconsin's 2-4 record on the road. When you look at it that way this game is winnable.  In the six road games the Badgers have played in conference play, their two wins have come against Penn St and Northwestern. They are probably coming off of their most impressive win of the year, beating Sparty by 18 at home.  Sophomores  Rob Wilson and Jordan  Taylor will continue to get PT with Jon Leuer’s wrist keeping him on the bench. I expect Wisconsin to continue the trend of playing with a smaller lineup, and Trevon Hughes to continue to do what he does.

In these teams first meeting, Michigan jumped out to an early 11 point lead, led most of the game, and then squandered it at the end. This has been said 800,000 times but these kids need to start hitting the outside shot. In an offense that thrives on the three ball, shooting 29 percent just isn’t going to get it done. I would imagine DeShawn Sims will get some good looks and be able to wreak havoc on the Badgers defense all day long. Hopefully Manny will be Manny minus the jacking up of crazy three pointers.

This team has been playing better, especially if you don’t count the train wreck against Northwestern. I think if we are able to knock down some threes(at a better clip than 29 percent) they stand a decent chance to win. I’m really hoping that this game is Darius Morris’s breakout game. If this kid becomes a solid contributor, I’ll feel a lot better about the future of this team.

Prediction UM 56 Whisky 51

Just so you know, I’ve never previewed an athletic event before, and I am far from a basketball expert, so it may be worth your while to check out Tim’s preview(if he posts one) on the mothership.