Wisconsin Badgers
Ohio State
Five Things to Know: Badgers at Ohio State
February 15, 2026 | Men's Basketball
UW seeks fifth-straight win over Buckeyes
MADISON, Wis. — The No. 24 Wisconsin men’s basketball team hits the road for a rematch against Ohio State on Tuesday at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio.
Tipoff on FS1 as Jason Benetti and Bill Raftery will have the call. Fans can also listen to Matt Lepay and Brian Butch on the Badger Radio Network
TOP-10 TAKEDOWN (AGAIN)
The Badgers (18-7, 10-4 Big Ten) powered past No. 10 Michigan State on Friday, 92-71, earning their third top-10 victory of the season. They’re tied with Texas Tech for most top-10 wins in the country, and gives Wisconsin the second-highest win total over top-10 teams in the country over the last two seasons at 6-4.
Nick Boyd and John Blackwell each posted 20-point games for the eighth time this season, being 8-0 in those contests. They also stamped themselves in the UW record book as the program’s highest scoring duo of all-time, combining for the most simultaneous 20-point games in school history.
Nolan Winter tallied 10 points and 11 rebounds, notching his 12th double-double of the season, which ranks second in the Big Ten.
AWARD TALK
Nick Boyd picked up Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday, his second time earning the award this season. He averaged 27 points, 4.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game in the wins over No. 8 Illinois and No. 10 Michigan State. He’s now third in the conference in scoring at 20.6 points per game, and third in the country with 23.2 PPG against top-10 opponents. Boyd’s 29 points on Friday extended his 20-point streak to six games, the longest for any Badger since Alando Tucker in 2006-07 (7 games).
BACK IN THE RANKS
The Badgers check in to this week's AP Top 25 at No. 24 for the first time since Nov. 17. It’s the highest ranking for the Badgers this season, and sees them earn well-deserved recognition above Big Ten foes like Iowa, UCLA, Indiana, Ohio State and USC. Including last week’s victories, UW has played six currently ranked teams, going 3-3 in those contests.
ROUND II WITH THE BUCKEYES
Wisconsin raced by Ohio State, 92-82, to close the month of January two weeks ago at the Kohl Center. It was UW's fourth straight win over the Buckeyes (16-9, 8-6 Big Ten), the longest streak in the back-and-forth series since 2004-05. Five Badgers scored in double figures, including a game-high 22 points from John Blackwell. Austin Rapp tallied his second-highest scoring game with Bucky on 19 points, all in the first half.
OSU has gone 2-2 since the Jan. 31 contest, earning wins over Maryland and USC, but falling to No. 2 Michigan, and No. 15 Virginia in a rare out-of-conference February tilt. Bruce Thornton still powers the Buckeyes in scoring, ranking fifth in the league with 19.6 points per game.
HOME COOKING
UW returns home on Sunday for a rivalry matchup with Iowa (18-7, 8-6 Big Ten). The Hawkeyes sit at No. 27 in the NET, six spots higher than the Badgers, despite not having a single ranked win, thus it’s another massive opportunity for Bucky at home. Wisconsin is 13-2 at the Kohl Center this season, and 28-4 in the last two seasons. They had a record-breaking day against Iowa last year, winning 116-85, and scoring the most points for a Big Ten team in a conference matchup since 1995.
