Wisconsin Basketball Falls Flat on the Road vs. Oregon: The Jekyll & Hyde Act Continues
Despite leading at the half, the Badgers allowed a 55-point second-half explosion to a three-win Oregon team.
Despite the Oregon Ducks’ record (11-17, 4-13 B1G), you knew there was a chance the Badgers would struggle in their 10:00 PM CT tip-off on Wednesday night. The West Coast swing is a notorious gauntlet, but once again, the Wisconsin basketball team played down to (or even lower than) the level of its competition.
This Badgers team is the definition of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
They are capable of going on the road and toppling No. 2 Michigan and No. 8 Illinois. When this team is “on,” they look like a Final Four dark horse. Then, they turn around and fall flat on their face against teams they should beat handily—TCU, Indiana, USC, and now, an Oregon team that was sitting in 17th place in the conference.
A Program-Record Barrage (That Failed)
The most staggering stat from the 85-71 loss? Wisconsin attempted a program-record 45 three-pointers. While they made 14 of them (a respectable 31%), the sheer volume told the story of a team that refused to attack the rim.
John Blackwell bounced back from a quiet Iowa game to lead the team with 22 points, but he didn’t record a single two-point field goal. When the jump shots stopped falling in the second half, the Badgers had no Plan B.
The Second Half Defensive Collapse
After a decent start, the Badgers led 33-30 at the break. But the second half was a different sport.
Whether it was the “body clock” factor or a lack of discipline, the defense vanished. Oregon shot an incredible 70.8% from the floor in the final 20 minutes. Nate Bittle did exactly what we feared: he controlled the game with 20 points, six rebounds, and five assists.
The Badgers also struggled with an injury scare to Nolan Winter, who left briefly with a foot injury. While he returned, the interior defense never recovered, allowing Oregon to outscore Wisconsin 34-16 in the paint.
The Resume Hit
This loss is a “Quad 2” anchor on the resume. Wisconsin was trending toward a 6-seed, but this performance likely slides them back to the 7 or 8 line.
More importantly, it’s a massive blow to their Big Ten Tournament hopes. A win would have kept them within striking distance of a double-bye. Now, at 11-6 in conference, they are tied with UCLA for 6th and trail the 4th-place spot by two games in the loss column with only three games remaining.
Remaining Schedule:
Feb 28: at Washington
March 4: vs. Maryland
March 8: at Purdue
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Another thought: the Badger’s recent losses were against opponents that they were expected to beat.
My prayer is that what they have learned is: “don’t overestimate any opponent”…
This is an important lesson to learn as the postseason approaches❗️
🤞🏼I’ve got my fingers crossed that the Badgers will gel just in time for postseason play 🤞🏼