The Wisconsin Badgers didn’t have the best start to the 2025-26 season, nor did the year end the way they’d hoped, but it sure was a memorable year for fans as this team scored the third most points per game in program history behind Nick Boyd and John Blackwell.
After a 4-0 start to the year, the Badgers had some rough moments, going 5-5 in their next five games. In that stretch, they beat Providence, Marquette, Northwestern, Central Michigan, and Milwaukee. Those five teams had a combined record of 64-98 this season. They also lost to BYU (by 28), TCU (by 11), Nebraska (by 30), Villanova (by 10), and Purdue (by 16).
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That stretch was very disappointing for the Badgers, who looked like a strong team in the preseason, which prompted me to pick them to be third in the Big Ten this year. But then came the switch.
After an 80-72 win over UCLA at home, where Wisconsin still looked a bit shaky, the Badgers shocked the world with a 91-88 win on the road against then-undefeated Michigan, which proved to be the biggest regular-season win of any team this season. Those two wins kicked off a five-game winning streak for the Badgers to start off conference play.
Then, in February, Wisconsin recorded back-to-back wins over Illinois and Michigan State before beating Purdue on the road in the regular-season finale. The Badgers finished as the No. 5 team in the Big Ten for the third straight year and made it to the Big Ten semifinals, where they lost on a game-winning three to eventual champion Michigan.
Still, those five marquee wins, paired with another one over Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament, were as good as any team’s in the country, making Wisconsin one of the hottest teams heading into the NCAA Tournament.
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Unfortunately, the season ended there, but the Badgers still had a memorable year, with this group of players hitting home for the fans.
At the forefront of it all was Nick Boyd, who bought into the crowd and loved the atmosphere in Madison. The duo of Boyd and John Blackwell became one of the best in the country. In the frontcourt, Wisconsin had some real shooting with Nolan Winter, Austin Rapp, and Aleksas Bieliauskas, which made for some fun moments and hot stretches that the fans soaked up.
Overall, it was a fun year with this team, and a couple of weeks ago, I asked fans what the most memorable moment of the season was. There were certainly a few that I listed above, with some holding more weight than others given the opponent and timing in the season.
But the results had an astounding favorite: the road win against Michigan that set everything in motion.
The win over Michigan got 78 percent of the vote, while the overtime win over Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament came in second.
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And it makes sense why. Heading into that game, with the trajectory of both teams, the Badgers were 19.5-point underdogs on FanDuel Sportsbook, which was easily their biggest spread of the season. Well, they not only managed to cover that one, but also found a way to win one of the games of the year.
