Big Ten Basketball Standings: Wisconsin Loss to Oregon Raises March Concerns
The Wisconsin Badgers' 85-71 road loss to Oregon laid bare defensive warning signs ahead of March and has implications for the big ten basketball standings. The defeat, a setback for the Badgers' Big Ten Tournament seeding hopes, featured a disjointed second-half defensive effort that head coach Greg Gard called unusually poor.
Big Ten Basketball Standings Impact
Wisconsin entered the game as a 6. 5-point road favorite against a team with the second-worst conference record, but the Ducks' efficient scoring flipped expectations. The loss was described in coverage as a crusher for the Badgers' tournament seeding hopes; it was also their second straight road defeat. With the regular season coming to an end soon, the result complicates Wisconsin's place in the big ten basketball standings and increases urgency for corrective work on defense.
Second-half defensive collapse
The defining stretch came in the second half, when Wisconsin's defense deteriorated. Oregon scored 55 points in that period on 70. 8 percent shooting and 66. 7 percent from three-point range. The Ducks dominated inside the arc, going 11 of 15 on two-point attempts, and made 15 of 20 free throws. Key contributors for Oregon in the late period included a player who scored 13 points in the second half; other opponents combined for 22 points on just nine shots in the period. Those numbers underline the specific breakdowns Gard highlighted: poor rotations, excessive paint penetration by opponents and physical interior play that consistently challenged Wisconsin.
Coach Gard's assessment and next steps
Gard was blunt about the team's performance. He said the Badgers didn’t keep the game simple, cited poor decision-making on offense and emphasized a lack of connection on defense in the second half. "I thought we were as discombobulated as I’ve seen us in a while, " he said, adding that the staff will review tape to determine the causes. The team's defensive efficiency sits at No. 63, the worst since 2018 in the coach's tenure, a metric that raises questions about the Badgers' ability to contend in postseason play unless improvement is swift.
- Final score: Oregon 85, Wisconsin 71.
- Second-half defense: Opponent scored 55 points on 70. 8% shooting; 66. 7% from three.
- Urgency: Regular season ending soon; defensive fixes needed for tournament seeding.
The Badgers will need to shore up rotations, limit paint penetration and reclaim the defensive identity Gard expects as they approach postseason play. The tape review and any subsequent adjustments will be central to whether this loss becomes an outlier or a sign of deeper issues heading into March.
