Wisconsin Basketball 2025-26

[Jim French Stepstool]

Fun fact, which I believe illustrates the great team defense, on & off the ball-----Jeremy Fears had twelve assists tonite. The rest of the MSU team combined for 1.

[Samurai Bucky]

9 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

I hear what you're saying, but I just have a difficult time saying anything negative about Rohde even if it's occasionally deserved. His defensive versatility is so vital when you have a defender like Boyd, who you might not want to have guard an opposing PG. He can guard 1-3, and his back-to-back threes right off the bat kinda set the tone in that MSU had to come out & guard him.

Some of his TOs are head-scratching, but he's only averaging one TO per game.

I 100% agree with you on how well he is defending.  It has been very satisfying watching him grow in this area.  If the turnover wasn't the same type of turnover, then I probably wouldn't notice it as much.

All in all, he is a much better player than at the beginning of the year.

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

Benetti (who I like, but is drifting into self-parody territory along with Ian Eagle) said something to this effect on the broadcast, and it is absolutely a cliche. But the Badgers are definitely a team NO ONE wants to see in their pod in the NCAAT. When you watch them every game, you see what the computers are missing. Boyd and Blackwell are really really good, and the other pieces fit together. Their defense has really improved, but the strength of recent competition is keeping the computers from fully pricing it in. If they end up on the 8-line, they'll be under seeded. Heck, this team feels like a 4 or 5 based on ability, even if the resume doesn't match. You could convince me they'd be under seeded as a 6. Two true road wins against top-5 teams is a nightmare even for your Houstons and Dukes.

I fully expect a lot of dark horse Sweet 16 commentary if they keep this up. Of course, the Badgers could grab four more big wins in the next couple of weeks and turn into much less of a dark horse, too. Or lose three in a row. Basketball is weird.

Just seems like a team with a clear ceiling (they go as far as the guards take them), but a really high floor.

[rickh150]

On 2/12/2026 at 10:59 PM, Jim French Stepstool said:

As I mentioned earlier, Rapp had the ball secured after the tangle under the hoop for the rebound, and the shot clock already was at 28. So yeah, it appears the shot clock (on the screen) jumped the gun.

The shot clock on screen was the same as the actual shot clock….and I can pause it at 20 sec on shot clock above basket and see Boyd isn’t across half court….and the actual shot clock went 30..29 30..29..28..27..26 after  the bobble under the hoop..  

[rickh150]

On 2/12/2026 at 7:23 PM, LouisEly said:

I double checked.  The shot clock on the screen was wrong and was started early.  The shot clock on the screen is not the official shot clock.

The Illinois player was shooting free throws with 35.3 seconds left.  Would not have been possible for the shot clock to be at 20 with more than 25 seconds left.

Triple check, then. I am looking at the actual shot clock! Above the rim. It even went backward for a bit from 30..29.30..29..28..27

The shot clock still could have been started a bit early. Not arguing that, but the actual shot clock was at 20 and ball/man were in backcourt.

My question is about he actual rule….Is 20 the penalty, or is it more like an NFL zero on play clock and they look the other way until 19? No ref is counting with his arm 10 seconds either.  
 

The official clock on backboard is 20 and it easily could have been called a violation, giving Illinois great chance to win, stay in Big Ten contender status, and give Badgers another tough loss.

 

 

[Jim French Stepstool]

1 hour ago, rickh150 said:

 

My question is about he actual rule….Is 20 the penalty, or is it more like an NFL zero on play clock and they look the other way until 19? 

 

 

It's been 20, ever since they started using the clock to measure 10 sec violations, as opposed to the ref counting out 'by hand'.

[Jim French Stepstool]

17 hours ago, rickh150 said:

The shot clock on screen was the same as the actual shot clock….and I can pause it at 20 sec on shot clock above basket and see Boyd isn’t across half court….and the actual shot clock went 30..29 30..29..28..27..26 after  the bobble under the hoop..  

So if the shot clock in the gym was wrong then that isn't really on Boyd, or anyone else bringing the ball up court. They might feel it getting close (9) in their head, glance up & see 3 or 4 secs left.

[tmwiese55]

It has to be showing 19 before its a violation.  Regardless, in this case the operator started it early and it would've been total bs to have that affect the end of the game. In addition, there's still frames of Boyd across the line with it still saying 20.   This is a blown up non issue.

[Samurai Bucky]

Wow!  The Badgers are 24th in the AP and 25th in the Coaches Poll.  

For reference:  33 in the NET, 32 in KPOM, 26 in Massey Combined

Massey Combined:  https://masseyratings.com/ranks?s=cb

Let's hope for a big win against OSU tomorrow.

[Jim French Stepstool]

3 hours ago, tmwiese55 said:

It has to be showing 19 before its a violation.  Regardless, in this case the operator started it early and it would've been total bs to have that affect the end of the game. In addition, there's still frames of Boyd across the line with it still saying 20.   This a blown up non issue.

Agreed. I'm surprised this still has legs.

But FWIW I've seen many games where the violation is called right at 20 secs if the ball hasn't crossed midcourt. If 20 is 20.0 and NOT 20.6 or whatever, that's how it should be called, too.

But as you said the timer really seemed to jump the gun in starting the shot clock.

[tmwiese55]

14 minutes ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

Agreed. I'm surprised this still has legs.

But FWIW I've seen many games where the violation is called right at 20 secs if the ball hasn't crossed midcourt. If 20 is 20.0 and NOT 20.6 or whatever, that's how it should be called, too.

But as you said the timer really seemed to jump the gun in starting the shot clock.

It is 20.6, that's why it hasn't been 10 until it hits 19.   There's a whole reddit thing too.  This is all blown up nonsense and the operator screwing it up made it closer than it seemed. Then compound it with people on twitter jumping the gun (including their coach i think) rather than double checking.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_line_(basketball)

Google AI:

In NCAA college basketball, the 10-second backcourt violation is officially signaled when the shot clock displays 19 seconds. While some debate exists regarding clock accuracy, the standard, correct ruling is that 10 seconds have elapsed once the 30-second shot clock counts down to 19 (meaning the ball has been in the backcourt for over 10.0 seconds). 

Key details:

• The Trigger: The countdown starts when the team gains control in the backcourt.
• The Visual Cue: When the display changes from 20 to 19, the 10 seconds have elapsed, and a violation occurs.
• Context: This rule applies to both Men’s (30-second clock) and Women's (30-second clock) basketball.
• Technical Note: Some, this Reddit user notes, argue that a whistle at 20 seconds is technically premature based on how 20.99 seconds is displayed, but 19 is the accepted, standard violation time. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

51 minutes ago, Samurai Bucky said:

Wow!  The Badgers are 24th in the AP and 25th in the Coaches Poll.  

For reference:  33 in the NET, 32 in KPOM, 26 in Massey Combined

Massey Combined:  https://masseyratings.com/ranks?s=cb

Let's hope for a big win against OSU tomorrow.

Nice to be back in the popularity poll!!!

Really, the opportunity to get back to 4-5-6 seeding territory is right there in front of them, especially when considering the BTT. But notice I said OPPORTUNITY. Getting a little too satisfied is all it takes to slip, even on the northwest trip.

Heavy loss for OSU, losing Mobley Jr. But Taison Chatman will (I assume) absorb a lot of his minutes, and he had arguably his best game of the season in Madison. UW has put some impressive feathers in their cap, now it's gotten to where WE'RE the feather to other teams. And OSU needs feathers. It'll be a battle.

[Jim French Stepstool]

9 minutes ago, tmwiese55 said:

It is 20.6, that's why it hasn't been 10 until it hits 19.   There's a whole reddit thing too.  This is all blown up nonsense and the operator screwing it up made it closer than it seemed. Then compound it with people on twitter jumping the gun (including their coach i think) rather than double checking.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_line_(basketball)

Google AI:

In NCAA college basketball, the 10-second backcourt violation is officially signaled when the shot clock displays 19 seconds. While some debate exists regarding clock accuracy, the standard, correct ruling is that 10 seconds have elapsed once the 30-second shot clock counts down to 19 (meaning the ball has been in the backcourt for over 10.0 seconds). 

Key details:

• The Trigger: The countdown starts when the team gains control in the backcourt.
• The Visual Cue: When the display changes from 20 to 19, the 10 seconds have elapsed, and a violation occurs.
• Context: This rule applies to both Men’s (30-second clock) and Women's (30-second clock) basketball.
• Technical Note: Some, this Reddit user notes, argue that a whistle at 20 seconds is technically premature based on how 20.99 seconds is displayed, but 19 is the accepted, standard violation time. 

Fair enough. I'll maintain I've seen it called right at 20 though. 

Thanks.

I guess the 'trigger' was the culprit in Champaign. When it appeared to me that Rapp finally (to my eyes) secured the rebound, the shot clock was already at 28.

[tmwiese55]

I do think that technically the ref himself is supposed to be counting separately, but I'd have to double check. So in theory, in a situation the operator was slow to start the clock the ref could call it before it hits 19.   

But for the purposes of what the twitter obsession was about, the people were wrong in how the clock is supposed to work. And then in this case, its clear the operator started early so this possible gray area of the refs count would be clearly in UWs favor.

[LouisEly]

3 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

Really, the opportunity to get back to 4-5-6 seeding territory is right there in front of them, especially when considering the BTT. But notice I said OPPORTUNITY. Getting a little too satisfied is all it takes to slip, even on the northwest trip.

The big thing is getting off of the 8/9 line.  Easier to make a run as a 7 or 6 than having to face a #1 in the 2nd round as an 8/9.  (Hasn't stopped them before, though.)

The tourney used to give the 8/9 seeds to worse teams than the 10 seeds because of this, but I don't know if they still do. 

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

On 2/16/2026 at 5:55 PM, LouisEly said:

The big thing is getting off of the 8/9 line.  Easier to make a run as a 7 or 6 than having to face a #1 in the 2nd round as an 8/9.  (Hasn't stopped them before, though.)

The tourney used to give the 8/9 seeds to worse teams than the 10 seeds because of this, but I don't know if they still do. 

I don't think they still do.

The S curve is supposed to determine all seedings. Teams get ranked 1-68 and then put on the corresponding seed lines (1-4 to 1, 5-8 to 2, etc.). Teams can only be moved up or down a line to fit bracketing principles like avoiding regular season matchups and games within the same conference. Travel might be a consideration too. Worse teams get worse seeds and only moved if it's necessary to avoid violating a specific bracket rule.

Badgers slight dogs tonight, in a desperation spot for OSU.

[yourout]

Not ready to play. 

 

[Samurai Bucky]

Oof.   They are being out worked.  

[yourout]

11 minutes ago, Samurai Bucky said:

Oof.   They are being out worked.  

Running in concrete

[yourout]

Worst half they have played in quite a while.

[Jim French Stepstool]

The defense was lacking early & then picked up, which happens quite a bit before adjustments. But Bynum & Royal hurt them bad. Combined 10-14 from the floor, & 4-6 from three (they both shoot under 30% from deep for the season). It's those two, plus the TO bug returned.

It looked like Blackwell was shrugging off a mediocre start, but then committed his 2nd foul on a call off the ball, effectively making OSU's job much easier for the last 6 minutes of the half. Boyd is being defended well, but either way Blackwell just can't afford to be taking himself out of the game like he has been recently. Be smarter.

Missing from three (1-8), but not enough attempts to really point to that as the main culprit. Just get more stops, try to get out & run, and it would be nice if Bynum & Royal came back to earth.

[valpocrewsader]

It worked last time...

I just tuned in to watch the comeback.

[adambr2]

This game had letdown written all over it. I had hoped it wouldn’t be this bad, though.

[Jim French Stepstool]

Thorough butt-kicking. This won't be the last time a team with their backs to the post-season wall come out at home & play really well. I remember a possession in the 2nd half--UW crawled to within twelve and still had enough time to make a game of it. They came out of a TO in a 1-3-1 zone. Now, you could argue the wisdom of that---I thought it was a decent idea for one possession---but I'm almost positive UW hadn't done that all game and Ohio State recognized it like we'd been doing it all night, got organized & attacked it just about perfectly, finishing with a 3PT hit from I believe it was Thornton. To me that illustrated just how well OSU played.

You could point to a handful of guys for UW that didn't play well, and maybe I'm too hard on him in this instance, but after the crappy start you crawl to within 6, are playing much better, and Blackwell--who was a catalyst in cutting into the lead--commits the off-the-ball foul. At the time Boyd was being throttled, Carrington hadn't heated up yet..........you just cannot take yourself out of the game like that. And looking to the bench, pleading with Gard to leave him in isn't the answer. It's one of the brain cramps that creeps into his game from time to time.

With the ineffectiveness of Garlock & Bieliauskas and Rapp being sick, I thought Hayden Jones showed some nice athleticism & settled in well once he bricked the FTs.

[LouisEly]

They better spend a lot of time in practice playing against matchup zone defense because they are going to see a lot of it from here on out.