MADISON, Wis. — The Badgers (3-12, 0-5 B1G) travel to The RAC in Piscataway, New Jersey, to take on Rutgers (7-11, 0-6) on Sunday. Tip time is 1 p.m. ET live on B1G+.
Here are five things to look for at Sunday's game.
1. ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Ending 2021 with a streak of home games, the Badgers travel to their second road contest of 2022 with a trip to Rutgers. The two-game road swing continues with a road matchup against one of the Big Ten's best team in No. 11 Michigan. Wisconsin's last road win dates back to the 2019-20 season.
2. DEVELOPING ELLEW:Â Freshman point guard Krystyna Ellew has been a added treat for Badger fans this year, especially when the young guard finds her shot early in the game. Head Coach Marisa Mosely saw her capabilities from the start when Ellew dropped 29 points in Wisconsin's season opener, but since she has been streaky in her production. Last time out against Minnesota, Ellew put up a great night of shooting as she finished with 19 points on 7-16 overall and 4-8 from 3-point range. Ellew sits as a major scoring threat for Wisconsin as it tries to find a way to capitalize on all of its strong guard play.
3. STRUGGLING TO DEFEND: Wisconsin has struggled with its defense the last three games, with opponents averaging 75 points per game. The Badgers especially see a scoring disparity when it comes to points in the paint, being out scored in the lane in all but two of their losses so far this season. Rebounding down low pairs with this struggle as Wisconsin sits 13th in the Big Ten for rebounding margin with minus 4.2.
4. IMPROVING BALL CONTROL:Â After averaging nearly 20 turnovers per game in mid-December, the Badgers have improved their ball control the last three games, averaging 13.7 turnovers per game. UW had 12 giveaways vs. Minnesota on Wednesday.
5. SCOUTINGÂ RUTGERS: Both teams are in search of their first conference win. The Scarlett knights, who started out their season well in non-conference play, are on a four-game losing streak that they will look to snap at home versus Wisconsin. Averaging the Big Ten's lowest points per game offensively, Rutgers sits second for average points per game defensively in the Big Ten as three of their conference losses have come by five points or less. Offensively, Rutgers doesn't boast any double-digit scorers with Osh Brown and Shug Dickson, both averaging 9.0 points per game. Both grad students, Brown as the forward and Dickson as the guard have created good high-low scoring threat for Rutgers.
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