The Big Ten Tournament is officially here, as the No. 5-seeded Wisconsin Badgers are facing off against the No. 13 Northwestern Wildcats on Thursday, with tip-off set for 1:30 p.m.

The Badgers are coming off a poor 86-75 loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions in their season finale at the Kohl Center, taking away their shot at a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament.

Nevertheless, they’re looking to head into the NCAA Tournament strong, hoping for a run in the Big Ten Tournament, which starts with their matchup on Thursday.

Wisconsin will return senior guard Max Klesmit to the starting lineup, as he returns from a lower-body injury that sidelined him the past three games. The Badgers struggled in his absence going 1-2 with losses to the Michigan State Spartans and the Nittany Lions, while narrowly beating the Minnesota Golden Gophers in their lone victory.

With Klesmit’s return, Kamari McGee will return to the bench as the Badgers will have their regular rotation for a crucial game on Thursday.

They’ll face a Northwestern team that extended their season by beating Minnesota 72-64 on Wednesday, thanks to 28 points from star Nick Martinelli. The Wildcats played great defense, holding the Gophers to 37.7 percent from the field in the win, squeaking by with 72 points in a lower-paced game.

Northwestern has gone 17-15 this season, including 7-13 in Big Ten play during the regular season. They gave Wisconsin a good fight back in February during a 75-69 win for the Badgers, but will be without Jalen Leach, who is out for the season.

The Badgers come into Saturday as an 7.5-point favorite. Can they get the win move forward for a matchup against the No. 4-seeded UCLA Bruins?