The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball season didn’t end on a high note, but Greg Gard’s squad picked up several notable wins during the regular season.
For this list, the Big Ten Championship tournament has been excluded. It would’ve been easy to include the Badgers’ 91-88 overtime victory over No. 9 Illinois, but instead, this focuses solely on the regular season.
Wisconsin got off to a strong 4-0 start before being humbled in Salt Lake City against No. 9 BYU.
Gard’s team dropped an odd game, 74-63, on November 28, 2025, to TCU in the Rady Children’s Invitational Championship.
From there, they hit the ground running. Ranked wins would come later in the year, but a dominant 20-point victory over an in-state rival was exactly what the Badgers needed to get back on track.
5. def. Marquette, 96-76, on 12/6/25
Wisconsin hosted Marquette this season in a game that saw John Blackwell drop 30 points for the second time in three games. Nolan Winter grabbed 13 rebounds, the second most he had in a single game this season. Holding the Golden Eagles to 76 points was great to see. Even though this is nowhere near the Marquette team’s Wisconsin faced in the past, this was still a huge win to improve to 7-2.
4. def. No. 10 Michigan State, 92-71, on 2/13/26
These next two games could be interchangeable, but this one, being at home, bumped it down one spot. Fresh off a stellar victory at Illinois, Wisconsin crushed Tom Izzo’s Spartans in a game that proved just how good this Badgers team could be.
3. def. No. 15 Purdue, 97-93, on 3/7/26
One could argue that allowing 93 points is enough to put the MSU win ahead of this, but getting a big-time road win at Purdue this late in the season was crucial. John Blackwell dropped 25 with Nick Boyd adding 23 in a game that saw the Badgers knock down 18 of their 34 three-point attempts.
2. def. No. 8 Illinois, 92-90 (OT), on 2/10/26
In any alternate universe, this is the biggest win of the year for Wisconsin. Obviously, though, No. 1 is obvious. Wisconsin pulled out a few incredible road wins this past season, and this was one of those. Illinois led by 12 with just over eight minutes remaining and had a 98.4% chance to win. Later, Wisconsin took a commanding 89-81 lead in overtime, and that was all she wrote.
1. def. No. 2 Michigan, 91-88, on 1/10/26
This isn’t just the best Badgers win of the season, it’s arguably the best win in the entire country. Wisconsin went to Ann Arbor and handed Michigan its first loss of the season. Remember, the Wolverines are the 2026 National Champions. This win is special, and it’s a shame these two teams didn’t meet again in the tournament.
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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Ranking Wisconsin men’s basketball’s biggest wins in 2025-26 season
Reporting by Jordon Lawrenz, Badgers Wire / Badgers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
