Nebraska @ Wisconsin preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 29, 2019 ) Wisconsin 62, Nebraska 51

Wisconsin was a fixture in the late rounds of the NCAA Tournament in recent years before a rare losing campaign in 2017-18. The 19th-ranked Badgers are pointed back in the right direction and hope for a long postseason run, beginning as the fourth seed of the Big Ten Tournament in a quarterfinal matchup with 13th-seeded Nebraska on Friday in Chicago.

"Last year our mindset, we were kind of just playing for pride. We wanted to win as many games as we could, leave it all on the floor," sophomore guard Brad Davison told reporters. "This year, we're competing for a Big Ten championship. Our goal, we're going to take it one game at a time, (but) we're planning on playing three games." Led by All-Big Ten first-team selection Ethan Happ, Wisconsin won 11 of its last 14 games, including a 62-51 victory at Nebraska on Jan. 29. The shorthanded Cornhuskers knocked off 12th-seeded Rutgers in the first round and then pulled off the tourney's first stunner with a 69-61 win over 21st-ranked Maryland on Thursday. After pouring in a career high-tying 34 points against the Scarlet Knights, senior guard James Palmer Jr. scored 24 to help defeat the Terrapins and potentially put Nebraska back on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

TV: 3 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

ABOUT NEBRASKA (18-15): Palmer is averaging 28.8 points over his last four games despite making 28-of-47 free throws in that span, and he sees a different team than the one that suffered through a 2-11 stretch during Big Ten play. "We just want to go out with a bang," he told the Big Ten Network postgame. "These last few games we've just been laser focused. Just trying to survive and advance like everybody says in March." Fellow senior Glynn Watson Jr. scored 19 points Thursday and is averaging 19.5 over the same four-game stretch for the Cornhuskers, who used a seven-man rotation against Maryland due to injuries and suspensions.

ABOUT WISCONSIN (22-9): Happ leads the Badgers in scoring (17.8), rebounding (10.4), assists (4.7) and steals (1.1) and the senior has scored at least 14 points in all six of his previous Big Ten Tournament games. Sophomore guard D'Mitrik Trice is next on the team's scoring list at 11.9 but is averaging 7.8 on 21.6 percent shooting over his last four games. Davison (10.9 points) had a team-high 13 points in the win over Nebraska earlier in the season.

TIP-INS

1. Happ is 24-for-43 from the foul line over his last five games after going 0-for-10 over the previous three.

2. Cornhuskers G Thomas Allen (ankle) has missed four straight games, G Nana Akenten (suspension) sat out the last three and G Amir Harris (knee) is out for the rest of the tournament.

3. Nebraska won the only prior meeting in the Big Ten Tournament with a 70-58 triumph in the second round in 2016.

PREDICTION: Wisconsin 70, Nebraska 60