Wisconsin Badgers
Washington or USC
Five Things to Know: Badgers tipoff Big Ten Tournament
March 10, 2026 | Men's Basketball
Wisconsin seeks fourth Big Ten Tournament title
MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin men’s basketball team get set to tip off the 2026 Big Ten Tournament presented by TIAA, playing either No. 12 seeded Washington or No. 13 seeded USC on Thursday at the United Center in Chicago around 1:30 p.m. CT. The Badgers come in as the No. 5 seed in the tournament.
Wisconsin has been the No. 5 seed in each of the last two years and has made it to the Big Ten title game both times.
The Badgers are looking for their fourth Big Ten tournament title, winning the championship in 2004, 2008 and in 2015.
All-session tickets for the 29th edition of the tournament are available for purchase through TicketMaster.com. For more information on this year's tournament, visit the Big Ten Tournament Central page.
The Badgers will have a pair of events on Thursday for fans in Chicago. UW will have a sendoff for the team from the Hilton Hotel (720 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60605) at 11:15 a.m. Join the UW Band, UW Spirit Squad and Bucky Badger and cheer on the Badgers.
Following the sendoff, fans can gather for a pre-game pep rally at Kaiser Tiger (1415 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60607) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. This free event is open to all Badger fans, with guests responsible for their own food and beverage purchases. Select giveaways will be available while supplies last.
Fans are strongly encouraged to visit the Kaiser Tiger website to make a reservation, which helps guarantee seating and timely service. When making the reservation in additional notes add "UW Badgers." Walk-up guests will be accommodated based on table availability. To view shuttle information from Kaiser Tiger to the United Center, click here.
Here are five more things to know.
REGULAR SESAON REVIEW
The Badgers earned the No. 5 after going 22-9 on the season, their fourth straight campaign with over 20 wins. They posted a 14-6 record in Big Ten play, having the most winning seasons in Big Ten play since 2000 with 23. UW has knocked off three top 10 teams this year, including at No. 2 Michigan, at No. 8 Illinois and No. 10 Michigan State. They earned three top-25 victories on the road for the third time in school history, with all of those marks coming under coach Greg Gard.
LAST TIME OUT
UW steamed past No. 15 Purdue, 97-93, in a raucous Mackey Arena on Saturday. The Badgers hit a season-high 18 three-pointers, as big men Austin Rapp and Aleksas Bieuliauksas combined for eight makes from deep. John Blackwell led with a game-high 25 points, sinking five triples of his own. Nick Boyd added 23, going an efficient 8-of-13 from the field, while dishing out five assists. He had 10 of UW’s final 12 points, including the game-sealing free throw. The win saw Bucky overtake the Boilermakers for the No. 5 spot in the Big Ten Tournament.
ON THE RISE
The Badgers enter postseason action ranked No. 23 in the AP Poll and are also No. 23 in the KenPom rankings, its highest ranking in KenPom since Thanksgiving. Since the calendar flipped to 2026, UW checks in as the No. 13 team in the country according to BartTorvik.com and has the No. 3 offense in the country during that span. Their success is due in part to ball security, having the nation’s second-lowest offensive turnover-percentage during the surge.
Wisconsin also ranks No. 22 in WAB and No. 26 in the NET Rankings, which are both important metrics that the NCAA Selection Committee uses to seed the tournament field.
KILLER Bs
A trio of Badgers earned honors from the Big Ten Conference on Tuesday. Nick Boyd earned second-team All-Big Ten accolades after ranking fourth in the Big Ten in scoring, averaging 20.1 points per game. Boyd was the architect of four top-15 wins for UW this season. Blackwell earned third-team All-Big Ten honors after averaging a career-high 18.3 points to go along with 4.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
The Big Ten's best backcourt is one-of-five high major pairings to each average 18 points per game. Boyd and Blackwell are also the highest scoring Big Ten tandem this season. The backcourt mates are on pace to be the fourth duo in school history to average 18 points a game. Wisconsin has been unbeatable when they both score 20-plus points, going 9-0 in such games.
In addition, Sharif Chambliss was named the Howard Moore Assistant Coach of the Year, an award named after the former UW player and assistant coach that is presented to a men’s basketball assistant who demonstrates the commitment to the development of student-athletes on and off the court.
NEW LEAGUE FOES
Wisconsin will play its first Big Ten Tournament game against either Washington or USC on Thursday with both teams joining the league last year. Wisconsin went 1-1 against their potential opponents on Thursday, falling 73-71 at home to USC on Jan. 25 while defeating Washington 90-73 on Feb. 28 in Seattle.
USC enters the tournament with an 18-13 record and a 7-13 league record, but has lost seven-straight games. The Trojans are also without their leading scorer, Chad Baker-Mazara, who is no longer with the program.
Washington is 15-16 this season and also went 7-13 in Big Ten play. The Huskies are led by freshman Hannes Steinbach, who earned third-team All-Big Ten honors and all-freshman honors this season.
