The Wisconsin Badgers announced last week that they will rematch the Villanova Wildcats in the Philly Hoops Showdown at Xfinity Mobile Arena, the home of the Philadelphia 76ers. The game is set to take place on Saturday, December 12th.
The two teams faced off last year at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee in December, with the Wildcats taking that one 76-66 in overtime. That loss was a crucial moment in Wisconsin’s season, as they were coming off a 30-point blowout defeat to the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and senior forward Nolan Winter was emotional after the game, vowing that the team would be better.
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Wisconsin ended up rebounding in January, going on a run in the Big Ten, as they finished the season with a 24-11 record, including 14-6 in conference play. That earned them a No. 5 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, where they bowed out in the semifinals, and a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Wisconsin will be quite different in 2026, as they’ll have eight new faces on the roster, including guard Owen Foxwell, guard Trey Autry, wing Eian Elmer, and center Victory Onuetu. After being guard-dominant in 2025 with Nick Boyd and John Blackwell, Wisconsin’s top returners come in the frontcourt with Nolan Winter and Austin Rapp.
Villanova returns leading scorer Tyler Perkins and is bringing in eight new players as well, landing five in the transfer portal and three in the 2026 freshman class.
Wisconsin trails Villanova 2-1 all-time. The Badgers beat the Wildcats back in the NCAA Tournament in 2017, taking down the No. 1 seed 65-62 in the Round of 32.
