How did Wisconsin fare against current NCAA Tournament Elite 8 teams?

Wisconsin men’s basketball’s season may have ended on March 19, but the program fared well against several conference foes throughout the 2025-26 campaign.

Greg Gard’s group, which earned a No. 5 seed in the West Region of the 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, wrapped its season with a wire-to-wire loss against No. 12 High Point last week. The defeat extended UW’s streak of first-weekend losses dating back to the 2016-17 season. Still, this year’s group triumphed over a bevy of notable conference foes.

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Following the first batch of Sweet 16 games on March 26, No. 9 Iowa, No. 3 Illinois and No. 2 Purdue advanced to the Elite 8. The Badgers, captained by guards Nick Boyd and John Blackwell, own victories over all three teams.

Most recently, Wisconsin overcame the Boilermakers’ veteran unit with a 97-93 win in West Lafayette on March 7 with 48 combined points from Boyd and Blackwell. Roughly two weeks earlier, UW secured an 84-71 win over the Hawkeyes at the Kohl Center, 12 days prior to the program’s nail-biting 92-90 win over Illinois in Champaign.

So, while UW no longer sits in the NCAA Tournament fold, its resume speaks for itself. Both No. 1 Michigan and No. 3 Michigan State, two Big Ten juggernauts that Wisconsin also defeated, play on March 27 with an opportunity to advance to the Elite 8 as well.

Wisconsin’s lack of success in the NCAA Tournament may contradict its performances against its conference contemporaries, but the Badgers have yet to shed their consistency in the regular season.

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A total of five Big Ten teams remain, each with a chance to hang a banner in their respective arenas. The action continues with No. 1 Duke vs. No. 5 St. John’s at 6:10 p.m. CT on March 27.

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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin Badgers Basketball Record Stats Iowa…

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Publish date : 2026-03-27 21:01:00

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