The Badger Backer "What If" Series — Ch. 3: What If the Polar Bear Never Fell?
19 years after the Value City Arena nightmare, we dive into the alternate reality where the #1 Badgers stayed healthy and conquered the college basketball world.
Before we had the “Justise Winslow touched it” heartbreak or the “J.J. Watt in 2011” fantasies, there was the Value City Arena nightmare. It is officially February 25, 2026—the 19th anniversary of the day Wisconsin basketball changed forever.
In our current timeline, the Badgers are NCAA Tournament-bound again, but to understand the heights this program is capable of reaching, we have to look back at the team that actually climbed to No. 1 in the nation, only to have their destiny altered by a single, gruesome fall in Columbus.
Catch Up on the “What If” Series:
The Scene: February 25, 2007
Location: Value City Arena, Columbus, OH
The Situation: No. 1 Wisconsin vs. No. 2 Ohio State
The Stakes: The first 1-vs-2 matchup in Big Ten history.
Wisconsin entered this game at 26-2 and was the top-ranked team in the nation. With Alando Tucker playing like a National Player of the Year and Brian Butch providing the interior anchor, Bo Ryan had the most complete roster in college basketball.
But midway through the first hald of the game, the season changed. Butch went up for a rebound, tangled with Ohio State’s Greg Oden, and landed awkwardly. The result was a gruesome dislocated elbow.
