The Michigan basketball season has seemingly gotten worse with each passing game.

The Wolverines (7-14, 2-8 Big Ten) have lost nine of 10 games, with their past four losses all coming by double figures. It's something the Wolverines' next opponent, Rutgers (10-10, 2-7 Big Ten) can relate, though — the Scarlet Knights have lost six of their eight games since Jan. 1.

But U-M head coach Juwan Howard made it clear in a Friday video conference call that misery does not love company. The Wolverines will not be extra motivated to play against an opponent that's also staggering when the two tip off Saturday afternoon (4 p.m., Big Ten Network) at Crisler Center.

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"Whatever team we play, it will always motivate them," Howard said. "Whether it's Michigan State, whether it's Purdue, whether it's Rutgers. ... It's not hard to motivate this group. Unfortunately, when you haven't had the stats you wanted, those are things you can probably look at and say, 'Oh, well, the group is not excited or doesn't play with a sense of urgency and motivation.'

"That is not the case with our team."

Although Howard won't focus on Rutgers' failures on the court he was clear about what Steve Pikiell's team is doing well: Defense.

While the Wolverines are last in the Big Ten in most statistical measures — chief among them, scoring defense (allowing 79.3 points per game) — the Scarlet Knights grade out well even beyond the raw numbers of allowing 66.3 points a game, good for third in the conference.

Ken Pomeroy's rankings put Rutgers' defense at No. 7 — in the nation — while Bart Torvik has the Scarlet Knights' defenders at No. 5. (For perspective, U-M's defense is No. 187 by KenPom and No. 178 by Torvik.)

"They're very active around the ball, cause a lot of turnovers," Howard said. "Defensively, they've always been a team under coach Pikell that I've coached against that have been aggressive defensively and play hard and tough and physical.

"With that effort and energy that they bring, we've got to make sure that we match it."

So why are the Scarlet Knights bottoming out in January and hovering around .500? The issue in Piscataway: Offense.

Not only are the Scarlet Knights last in the Big Ten in scoring (66.8 points per game), but at No. 296 in the KenPom offensive efficiency rankings, they are the worst Power Six (the Power Five plus the Big East) squad by a bit. The next closest majors are DePaul at No. 286, and then Vanderbilt at No. 235 and Arizona State at No. 224.

Perhaps Rutgers' struggling offense can help U-M's defense resemble that of Rutgers' a bit more. After all, it's that side of the ball, Howard said Friday, that is supposed to be the Wolverines' backbone.

Howard has said the prerequisite for playing at U-M is being the most hard-nosed on defense; when asked Friday if the team has lived up to that this year, however, he wasn't as ironclad: “Working towards it every day."

“Our identity is the most important thing,” Howard said. “What is your identity? (How) are you working to develop that identity? Our identity has always been predicated on, since I arrived here: Guarding; being disruptive; being the toughest, nastiest; as well as bringing a certain level of effort and energy.”

Pink-out at Crisler

Saturday is the annual "pink-out" game at Crisler Center to support breast cancer awareness.

All fans are encouraged to wear pink, and event staff will give out pink pom-poms.

U-M also has an annual "blue-out" game for prostate cancer awareness, which hits particularly close to the program; Jay Smith, director of player personnel & development (and father of walk-on Cooper Smith), was diagnosed with the disease in June 2018.

"My family, the Michigan family, we all have family members that have experienced that unwelcoming, nasty disease that has torn a lot of families apart and lost love ones while doing it," Howard said. "But also had some family members that overcame and beat it. It's nice to see the athletic department is always doing special things to put that awareness out there and supporting those who have gone through these tough times."

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball set to meet Rutgers in battle of Big Ten basement