BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Even if Virginia Tech hasn't used much pressure defense so far this season, Trevon Hughes knows the Hokies most likely will use it Monday night when they face the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team in a Big Ten/ACC Challenge game at Cassell Coliseum here.

The Hokies (4-2) have had a week to prepare for the game, and they've had a chance to study how Connecticut disrupted the Badgers with its pressure defense and forced 22 turnovers in a 76-57 victory in the Paradise Jam tournament title game last Monday at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.

Bring it on, said Hughes, the Badgers' junior point guard.

"I want to play like that because once we break it it'll be easy shots for us to get," said Hughes, who added that he didn't make some proper defensive calls against UConn that could have helped the Badgers.

"We've gone over that in practice," Hughes said. "It's easy. We went through it last year. We can do it."

UW associate head coach Greg Gard said the Badgers' ball handlers must be tougher and stronger with the ball when they face pressure in a hostile environment for the first time this season.

"Make better decisions, use ball fakes. Their strengths are their strong basketball IQs and decision making, so use that to counter that athleticism and quickness," said Gard. "When people are trying to get up and overplay and climb into you, make smart decisions, don't just make the reactionary knee-jerk decision and panic like you have a hand grenade in your pocket."

What: Big Ten/ACC Challenge

Who: Wisconsin Badgers (5-1) vs. Virginia Tech (4-2)

When: 6 p.m.

Where: Cassell Coliseum (9,847), Blacksburg, Va.

TV: ESPN2.

Radio: WIBA/AM 1310

Series: First meeting

ALL EYES ON

The Big Three: Sophomore forward (6-foot-7) Jeff Allen, senior swingman (6-6) A.D. Vassallo and sophomore point guard (6-3) Malcolm Delaney have scored 299 of the team's 412 points this season. The 240-pound Allen, who made the ACC All-Freshman team last season, is averaging a double-double (16.8 points/10.5 rebounds) as well as averaging 2.5 steals and two blocks. He is shooting 51.4 percent overall and 58.3 from 3-point range. Vassallo was a second-team All-ACC performer last season and is averaging 16.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.1 assists this year. He is shooting 42 percent overall and 32.6 percent from 3. Delaney is averaging 16.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists and is shooting 35.7 percent overall and 36.1 percent from 3.

The Hokies aren't deep and are missing 6-6 sophomore J.T. Thompson, who is out 3-5 weeks with a hernia.

POINTS TO PONDER

Out of the loop: Virginia Tech and Wisconsin are football schools but have excellent basketball programs that play out of the spotlight of higher profile teams in their respective conferences. Virginia Tech finished among the top four in the standings of the powerful ACC in each of the past two seasons. The Hokies have been picked to finish in the upper division of the ACC again this year despite just two seniors and one scholarship junior on their roster.