Wisconsin Basketball 2025-26

[Underachiever]

They seemed to lose their composure, and I think Boyd just got his shot in the lane blocked again. For all the talk of Wisconsin tempo, it was Oregon that got the Badgers to speed up at the individual level. They fumbled so many balls it had to be concern for the quick hands of Oregon. I mean, THAT was a 3-13 Big10 team?

[Jim French Stepstool]

Not WHO you play, but HOW. I've used that mantra many times in Brewers threads, and it looks more & more like it appears to be appropriate to this years' Badger BB team.

My biggest concern today Is Hannes Steinbach of Washington. the guy is really strong & refined for a freshman post player. Great nose for the ball. Going back a couple decades, he reminds me a lot of Mike Wilkinson.

[AKCheesehead]

Well that was certainly enjoyable.  Not every day you can blow a conference opponent out at their house.

[Jim French Stepstool]

Twos vs threes. Greg Gard is pretty much married to the analytics of the 3PT shot as opposed to 2PT shots that aren't at the rim. I tend to think it's somewhat situational, but you can't argue with the results today. Washington scored 52 points in the second half & never really made the game close, because after the break it was Diallo being unguardable inside the arc vs a heavy 3PT barrage, without the high TO total we saw in Eugene on Wednesday. Diallo & Steinbach were both effective but all their work was done at 2PT range. The third leg of their attack (Yates) averages over 13 PPG & was held to 1-17 shooting. That was mostly due to Rohde (but yes, his offensive play left something to be desired).

I don't know if they keep such records, but I'd think there's a strong possibility Braeden Carrington scored the most points off the bench in program history. I know Rob Wilson once had 30 in a BTT game in 2012.

Glad to see Winter return to the heartland in one piece after tweaking the ankle Wednesday & apparently getting hit there again today.

Not overly worried, but Blackwell still looks to be a little 'off'. He played the most minutes of anyone--in a game well in hand--so it probably isn't anything physical. Hopefully just a rough patch like he experienced in December.

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

On 2/28/2026 at 8:34 PM, Jim French Stepstool said:

Twos vs threes. Greg Gard is pretty much married to the analytics of the 3PT shot as opposed to 2PT shots that aren't at the rim. I tend to think it's somewhat situational, but you can't argue with the results today. Washington scored 52 points in the second half & never really made the game close, because after the break it was Diallo being unguardable inside the arc vs a heavy 3PT barrage, without the high TO total we saw in Eugene on Wednesday. Diallo & Steinbach were both effective but all their work was done at 2PT range. The third leg of their attack (Yates) averages over 13 PPG & was held to 1-17 shooting. That was mostly due to Rohde (but yes, his offensive play left something to be desired).

I don't know if they keep such records, but I'd think there's a strong possibility Braeden Carrington scored the most points off the bench in program history. I know Rob Wilson once had 30 in a BTT game in 2012.

Glad to see Winter return to the heartland in one piece after tweaking the ankle Wednesday & apparently getting hit there again today.

Not overly worried, but Blackwell still looks to be a little 'off'. He played the most minutes of anyone--in a game well in hand--so it probably isn't anything physical. Hopefully just a rough patch like he experienced in December.

Jekyll and Hyde road trip, but probably the better split from a resume perspective. Yesterday was the perfect example of how hard this team will be to beat if they make their threes. Of course, Wednesday was a case of why they'll be seeded mid-bracket. 

Blackwell has looked a bit tentative lately. Just not hopping around like we've seen at other times. Hopefully just a case of the February doldrums.

Obviously be nice to add a big win or two in these last two weeks, but we're at the point where health seems more important. Just don't lose to Maryland, and you'll have to feel pretty good about where this team sits heading into the postseason.

[Jim French Stepstool]

Senior Night. In some cases it's still a celebration of a dedicated 4-5 years worth of hard work & sweat invested in a program. In others it's devolved into 'thanks for playing here for a season & taking a few classes in the meantime'. Anyway, it sounds like Boyd is pumped about his last game in front of the KC fans. In all-conference talk he seems to be an afterthought to many, or no thought at all. That makes me happy. He seems like the type of kid who gets fueled by stuff like that.

On paper Maryland looks to be little problem. Near the bottom of the league in PPG & opponents' PPG. They've had some people step up with impressive performances but their being last in A/TO ratio & APG makes one think there is a large dose of one-on-one play. The Greg Gard word when talking about defensive play---connectivity---should be effective tonite if executed.

Andre Mills looks like their hottest hand right now. Diggie Coit has had a few monster games--over 40 once--but is 2 of his last 20 from three. I assume Boyd draws him.

Thankfully, it appears nothing serious or chronic after the ankle roll from Winter.

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

Oof.

Nothing game, and Winter looks to have badly sprained his ankle.

I've seen some amazing things with ankles the last decade, but you hope there isn't a tendon or fracture involved.

You're looking at two weeks before a round one game. That's probably pretty quick for anything other than a mild sprain.

Hope Rapp and JB are ready for a big step up. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

1 hour ago, Cool Hand Lucroy said:

Oof.

Nothing game, and Winter looks to have badly sprained his ankle.

I've seen some amazing things with ankles the last decade, but you hope there isn't a tendon or fracture involved.

You're looking at two weeks before a round one game. That's probably pretty quick for anything other than a mild sprain.

Hope Rapp and JB are ready for a big step up. 

You hope for the best, obviously. He never returned to the bench, but with a big lead he didn't need to so you can't really read into that. But he wasn't putting weight on it; it didn't look promising. No word in postgame as to the extent.

Losing him for any extent of time would suck, but if that happens the effect AFA their identity on the offensive end wouldn't be great. Of course, Bieliauskas & Rapp hitting shots would become more important. Garlock won't score much but could hold his own defensively vs traditional bigs, like they'll see Saturday. They have the 'going small' look, which they've done often. And while he's smallish for a 4, Robison can stretch a defense & IMO would be a little more solid than folks might expect.

Even though he's their 3rd leading scorer on the season a potential loss of Winter would concern me much more on the defensive end.

[Jim French Stepstool]

As to the MD game:

The only thing that stuck in my craw was MD picking up all the 2nd & 3rd opportunities. You wouldn't think so given they only scored 45pts, but too many extra looks.

Only 3 turnovers. That's Dick Bennett-like.

MD shooting poorly helped a lot, but even so the defense was really active. Nine MD TOs, and all but one were on steals.

The Terps were 8-25 on 2pt shots. That's unusually bad.

From the "If at first you don't succeed.........." department-----UW started 0-9 from 3pt range, then went 13-22.

Andrew Rohde had 6 assists, more than anyone on either side. Second was Zack Kinziger with 4----in only 7 minutes. I'm not sure what his ceiling is--I tend to think it's fairly high--but he's a really heady kid, on both ends. He'll be a contributor.

[Jim French Stepstool]

A Purdue team trying to get back on track after a so-so stretch. Senior Day in West Lafayette. And Braden Smith is one of the seniors. Feels like quite a stacked deck.

Even so, I see a possible path to competitiveness. Even if Winter sits out (which I expect), you have a couple of bigs that can knock down threes if they get in a rhythm while Purdues' counterparts aren't the greatest at stepping out & challenging. OTOH, Garlock adds nothing to that strategy but he'll probably get decent minutes if Winter sits as he matches up well with Cluff & Jacobsen. It would be interesting to see if they go small at times if for no other reason than to see who guards Kaufman-Renn (probably Carrington). I have a funny feeling Jack Robison might get his feet wet.

Sort of a whole lot to gain, not-much-to-lose type game. Boyd is so damned competitive, it'll be fun to see him go up against a PG like Smith, who's received a lot of (deserved) ink all season. With his vision, you just can't help on him, especially if he gets in the lane. And as if Smith isn't challenge enough, CJ Cox is coming off his career high(27). He & Loyer have each made 12 of their last 25 shots from beyond the arc.

Really good team when they're clicking.

 

 

[AKCheesehead]

The play by play is several seconds ahead of the action for me, is that the case for the rest of you?

[RedStickBrew]

4 minutes ago, AKCheesehead said:

The play by play is several seconds ahead of the action for me, is that the case for the rest of you?

No issues for me. Watching it on CBS

[AKCheesehead]

Strange.  I'm watching CBS on YTTV and the audio is way out of sync even on the ads.  

[Jim French Stepstool]

11 minutes ago, AKCheesehead said:

The play by play is several seconds ahead of the action for me, is that the case for the rest of you?

I'm on CBS too. I actually think the audio IS a fraction of a sec behind. Nothing like what you're experiencing though.

[Jim French Stepstool]

I love the shot making from UW but it doesn't look like we have anyone who can effectively guard Kaufman-Renn. Not overly nuts about Blackwell being matched up with Smith, either. But they're fun to watch when they get on a roll, and they're doing it vs a team that's playing pretty hard.

[yourout]

Fletcher Loyer is a flopping douche nozzle.

[yourout]

The second half officiating has been putrid.

[adambr2]

Just getting destroyed on the glass. If they lose this game, it’ll be because of all the second chance points.

[Jim French Stepstool]

With Winter out the 2nd & 3rd looks for PU isn't a surprise. When they combine it with knocking down outside shots it's tough. This sounds pollyanish but Purdue is playing pretty well, we're short-handed & IMO Wisconsin deserves a ton of credit for making this a game.

[yourout]

That was fun fun fun. 

Few teams on the planet I like to beat on senior day more than the Purdue flip flop douche nozzles.

[adambr2]

Meh, it’s only like their 3rd best road win of the season. ;)

[valpocrewsader]

We're at #5 in the conference now? Top 4 get triple bye? Does IL need to lose tomorrow for WI to get in the top 4?

[Joseph Zarr]

What a week for Men's hockey n BBall at Buckeyville! Incredible stuff.. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

6 minutes ago, valpocrewsader said:

We're at #5 in the conference now? Top 4 get triple bye? Does IL need to lose tomorrow for WI to get in the top 4?

Yes. Doubtful.

[Jim French Stepstool]

Loads of heroes. With Winter out, you kinda needed to outscore them. And how often does a team lean on its' offense to win in that place? Bieliauskas & Rapp got some deep looks as I thought, and combined for 8 hits. Blackwell was great throughout, and Boyd was magnificent in taking over late. That shot he made from the left side of the lane, with 2-3 defenders right there & having to recover the ball after momentarily losing it----if I ever need to find a magician for a kids' party, I'm hiring his ass.

I mentioned how I didn't like Blackwell on Smith, but it turns out the looser D was by design. Blackwell laid off him trying to keep him out of the lane & keep him from picking up 15 assists by dishing to bigs for and-ones. Late in the game he bellied up on him more. I guess you'd have to say it worked---Smith went 2-7 from deep---but still picked up nine assists. He's just a great PG. I won't miss him.

Purdue shot over 50%, shot 44% from three, only turned it over seven times & outrebounded UW by twelve. It's just so crazy to look at those numbers & realize Bucky won the game. Another huge factor was only four TOs in the last 33 or so minutes of game time. And other than CJ Cox being mostly invisible offensively, no one for Purdue really played poorly. Just another gutsy, impressive win.