Looking back at the best moments of Wisconsin’s memorable 2025 campaign
The Badgers had a few major memorable moments this season.
Wisconsin guard John Blackwell (25), left, celebrates a play against Michigan with guard Nick Boyd (2) during the second half at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images The Wisconsin Badgers didn’t have the best start to the 2025-26 season, nor did the year end the way they’d hoped, but it sure was a memorable year for fans as this team scored the third most points per game in program history behind Nick Boyd and John Blackwell.
After a 4-0 start to the year, the Badgers had some rough moments, going 5-5 in their next five games. In that stretch, they beat Providence, Marquette, Northwestern, Central Michigan, and Milwaukee. Those five teams had a combined record of 64-98 this season.
They also lost to BYU (by 28), TCU (by 11), Nebraska (by 30), Villanova (by 10), and Purdue (by 16). That stretch was very disappointing for the Badgers, who looked like a strong team in the preseason, which prompted me to pick them to be third in the Big Ten this year. But then came the switch.
After an 80-72 win over UCLA at home, where Wisconsin still looked a bit shaky, the Badgers shocked the world with a 91-88 win on the road against then-undefeated Michigan, which proved to be the biggest regular-season win of any team this season. Those two wins kicked off a five-game winning streak for the Badgers to start off conference play. Then, in February, Wisconsin recorded back-to-back wins over Illinois and Michigan State before beating Purdue on the road in the regular-season finale.