“Their record’s nowhere near their ability,” Izzo said at practice on Friday. “If you watch the games … they’re probably four points away from playing for a Big Ten Championship and not worrying about (making the NCAA Tournament).”

In that six-game losing streak, the Badgers lost in overtime to Minnesota and Iowa and also lost by one point to Purdue. Despite that skid, Wisconsin (17-9 overall, 8-6 Big Ten) rebounded from a dismal January with an unbeaten February thus far, now coming to Breslin Center in an attempt to continue its five-game winning streak against the No. 6 Spartans (20-5, 10-3) at 3 p.m Sunday.

During the last seven years, Wisconsin has dominated MSU, winning 11 of the past 14 games. With the Spartans looking for their first Big Ten title since 2000-01, senior guard Travis Walton said the Badgers would like nothing better than to come to Breslin and ruin MSU’s quest.

“They started out bad and now they’re playing the top team in the Big Ten right now and they’re trying to get their respect back, fighting for their tournament berth,” Walton said. “So they probably think it’s going to be a great win on their résumé if they can beat us at home.”

The Badgers boast an array of veterans, all of whom have seen significant action under head coach Bo Ryan. Senior forward Marcus Landry is the team’s leading scorer with 12.8 points per game and junior guard Trevon Hughes (11.8 ppg) has been pacing the team through its recent winning streak, most recently with a 21-point performance Thursday against Indiana.

Jason Bohannon (10.6 ppg) and Jon Leuer (9.2 ppg) also provide a scoring spark, while 6-foot-7 Joe Krabbenhoft (8.9 ppg, 6.6 rebounds per game) can play inside and out.

As for the Spartans, who lost 72-54 to Purdue on Tuesday, Izzo said the team’s practices on Thursday and Friday may have been its best of the season. Both Izzo and the players said the practices were more physical, which can only help in preparation for a team that loves to pound it inside.

“Basically (we) have to communicate, play solid defense (and provide) a lot of ball pressure, that’s going to be the main focus is the intensity and ball pressure,” freshman forward Delvon Roe said of the main keys for Sunday. “Because if you don’t have that ball pressure, you’re reluctant to give up a lot of back-door (cuts) and easy post feeds. If we can stop their post game and make them settle for a lot of outside shots we should be fine.”