Wisconsin’s loss to Oregon shows warning signs ahead of March

EUGENE, OR – Wisconsin coach Greg Gard did not ignore the uncomfortable reality facing his Badgers after an uninspiring loss to Oregon roughly three weeks ahead of the NCAA Tournament.

“When you keep playing like that, you won’t play long,” Gard said outside the visiting team locker room at Matthew Knight Arena, echoing his message to the team after the 85-71 loss on Feb. 25.

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The Badgers’ loss to the Ducks – a team that is (and has been) well outside tournament contention – offered some red flags for a team with aspirations of winning March Madness games.

Gard’s group has lost its last two games away from the Kohl Center, and both have been by double-digit margins against unranked teams. The Badgers are not dealing with one or two isolated issues either.

Wisconsin fell into an early double-digit deficit against Ohio State – as it has in several of its Big Ten games – and the defense could not muster enough stops to give the Badgers a realistic chance to claw back.

Then against Oregon, Wisconsin’s offense was out of sorts in seemingly every way. The Badgers did not generate anything in the interior as Oregon often packed the paint, and their lackluster ball movement limited their quality of 3-point looks. It was UW’s second loss this season when leading at halftime. (The Jan. 25 loss vs. USC was the other.)

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The obvious common thread between Wisconsin’s two recent losses was its defensive inconsistency. Oregon – ranking 119th in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency this season – looked superb in the second half against Wisconsin’s defense. The Ducks shot 70.8% after halftime.

The Badgers rank 63rd in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency. Thirteen of last year’s Sweet 16 teams finished in the top 50 in the metric, and the three exceptions – Purdue, BYU and Kentucky – had top-10 offenses. UW’s offense is 20th in adjusted offensive efficiency.

Wisconsin can take some solace in the way it has bounced back from…

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Publish date : 2026-02-26 20:53:00

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