Wisconsin basketball (21-6, 11-5 Big Ten) fell 77-73 in overtime to the Oregon Ducks (20-8, 9-8 Big Ten) on Saturday afternoon.
Backed by 16 early points from star wing John Tonje, the Badgers built a 17-point edge late in the first half. They held the Ducks to just 26 points in the opening frame on 11-of-32 shooting from the field. At the break, it appeared as if Wisconsin would cruise to another blowout win at home.
The beginning of the second half suggested a similar theme — Wisconsin maintained a comfortable double-digit lead courtesy of several buckets from Nolan Winter, Kamari McGee and Max Klesmit. A Tonje layup extended UW’s advantage to 14, 64-50, with just over six minutes to play. The Ducks, however, had yet to ignite their late-game surge.
Over the ensuing six minutes of play, Oregon piloted a 16-2 spurt, ending in a game-tying three-pointer from Jackson Shelstad. From there, big man Nate Bittle took the offensive reigns to propel the Ducks to an unlikely upset over the nation’s No. 11-ranked team.
Oregon head coach Dana Altman met with the media after his team’s statement win. Here’s everything he said, including some praise for the 2024-25 Badgers:
Opening statement
“Very proud of the fellas. I thought we really sucked it up there after being down 17. Got the ball inside to Nate that second half. Kind of went inside out. Got our offense going a little bit, which generated our defense. We got 17 points off of turnovers in the second half and overtime. I thought that was the difference in the game. Coming in, watching Greg [Gard]’s team play on film, their ball movement and execution are so impressive. I told our guys we have to break their rhythm in some way because they move the ball so good. So we got that rhythm just a little bit out of sync that second half, and that really helped us.”
On breaking Wisconsin’s offensive rhythm
“It started with T.J. Bamba doing a really good job on [John] Tonje. He’s hit so many big shots for them. I thought T.J. did a good job. Jackson [Shelstad] gave us a little ball pressure. Nate got in bad foul trouble in the first half. That third foul with the reach is just unexplainable. But he gives us a presence inside where guys can’t get to the rim really easy. So, we need him on the floor. Then I thought our pressure on the perimeter increased, we got hands on some balls and contested some shots that I thought they got pretty easy in the first half.”
On Oregon’s full-court pressure
“Not a lot of teams press, We start pressing early and, I thought that took a little of the rhythm away. They just weren’t able to walk into their offensive. We wore them down a little bit and put them in spots you’re not used to being in. That really helped us.”
On limiting Wisconsin’s inside attack
“Well, I thought we did a better job of keeping it out there and getting some guys off and to the ball. When you give the post man a one-on-one and four dribbles, most guys are going to put themselves in a pretty good spot. In the first half, our activity just wasn’t very good. I thought it got a lot better in the second half, and we were just off and to the ball a lot better.”
On continuing to acclimate to the Big Ten
“We wanted to be in the Big Ten. We asked to be in the league, and we’re not complaining about travel or complaining about anything. We have made a few trips and our guys enjoy the new atmospheres. Different places to play. You guys, unbelievable atmosphere here, great crowd honoring coach [Dick] Bennett’s team before the game. It’s a great atmosphere. Players want to play good teams. Wisconsin’s a really good team. We just caught fire there in the second half, and that happens. Teams get on a little roll and the game changes momentum, that’s simply what happened.”
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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin basketball Oregon coach Dana Altman press conference comment
