Green Bay @ Wisconsin preview

Green Bay at Wisconsin

Last Meeting ( Dec 23, 2017 ) Green Bay 60, Wisconsin 81

Wisconsin looks to build on its best win of the season when it hosts Green Bay as part of the regional portion of the Roman Legends Classic on Thursday. The Badgers routed Marquette 77-61 on Saturday to register their largest margin of victory in the I-94 rivalry in 21 years, and they hope to continue their upward trajectory by extending their winning streak to four games after losing their season opener to Saint Mary's in overtime.

Wisconsin has held its last three opponents to 63 points or fewer, and aims to put the defensive clamps on a Green Bay squad that matched a program record with 115 points in its win against Wisconsin-Stout on Nov. 9. "You can find something, but can you sustain it and can you make it grow and that will be the challenge," Wisconsin coach Greg Gard told reporters. "You have to strap 'em up when you step in between the lines and hopefully that's a persona that starts to infiltrate through the ranks." The Badgers have won the last eight meetings with Green Bay, with six of the victories coming by double digits, and hope to keep rolling by extending their non-conference home winning streak to 14 games. The Phoenix suffered a 93-78 defeat to New Mexico on Nov. 13 and hope to bounce back by knocking off Wisconsin for the first time since Dec. 9, 2009.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

ABOUT GREEN BAY (1-2): JayQuan McCloud led the way with 20 points and seven assists, but the Phoenix were undone by a 10-for-33 shooting performance from 3-point range. PJ Pipes matched his career high with 17 points to go along with three assists and a pair of steals while Trevian Bell provided a spark off the bench with 13 points against New Mexico. "I thought we competed and I thought we played hard," Green Bay coach Linc Darner told reporters. "We got off to a good start, but we had a bad three or four-minute stretch where they went on an eight or nine-nothing run."

ABOUT WISCONSIN (3-1): Brevin Pritzl set new career highs with 15 points and 13 rebounds in the win against Marquette en route to his first collegiate double-double. Brad Davison added 15 points while Aleem Ford scored 12 and tied his career high with seven rebounds, as the Badgers shot a season-high 47.8 percent from 3-point range to beat the Golden Eagles for the first time since 2016. Nate Reuvers tallied 10 points to reach double figures for the fourth consecutive game and D'Mitrik Trice also scored 10 points, as the Badgers notched their 300th win at the Kohl Center, which opened in 1998.

TIP-INS

1. Wisconsin has won 22 of the last 23 meetings with Green Bay.

2. The Badgers are 49-14 at home under Gard.

3. Reuvers is ranked eighth nationally in blocked shots per game (3.8).

PREDICTION: Wisconsin 81, Green Bay 65