How to Watch Nebraska Men’s Basketball at No. 18 Wisconsin: Preview, Breakdown, TV Channel

With the Huskers' season unraveling, a ranked matchup against the Badgers is a tall task as NU seeks to end a five-game losing streak.

Jan 22, 2025; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Ahron Ulis (2) drives against Southern California Trojans forward Matt Knowling (3) during the first half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

It’s officially time to pull the fire alarm, punch the panic button or any other metaphor you want to use to signal the fleeting hopes of Nebraska’s basketball season. 

With their backs against the wall facing a must-win situation against USC at Pinnacle Bank Arena – plus being 6.5-point favorites – the Huskers fell short again, dropping a 78-73 contest to the Trojans to extend NU’s losing streak to five games while being the first time since February of 2022 that Nebraska has suffered two consecutive defeats at PBA. 

Just three weeks ago in Iowa City, Nebraska was up by 15 points over Iowa in the second half looking to put the finishing touches on a Quad 1 conference win on the road. Fast forward and now the Huskers are tied for second-to-last in the conference and are in real danger of missing the Big Ten Tournament. 

NU doesn’t have much time to feel sorry for themselves as they hit the road again to face a ranked Wisconsin team in the Kohl Center which is a building the Huskers have won in twice in the last nine tries. 

Here’s all you need to know as the Huskers face the Badgers for a Sunday afternoon battle in Madison. 

How to Follow Along 

• Matchup: Nebraska (12-7, 2-6 B1G) at No. 18 Wisconsin (15-4, 5-3 B1G) 
• When: Sunday, January 26, 2025
• Where: Kohl Center, Madison, Wisc.   
• Time: 12 p.m. CST 
• Watch: Big Ten Network
• Listen: Huskers Radio Network and Affiliates

Wisconsin Badgers head coach Greg Gard reacts to a play Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, during the NCAA men’s basketball game against the Butler Bulldogs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. | Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

No. 18 Wisconsin Scout

Head Coach: Greg Gard | 9th Season at Wisconsin and overall as HC | 201-111 (.644) at Wisconsin & Career HC record | 7x NCAA Tournament Appearances, 2x Sweet 16s | 2x B1G Regular Season titles | 2x B1G Coach OTY, Jim Phelan Award (2016) | Previous assistant at Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin-Platteville, Platteville HS and Southwestern HS. 

2023-2024 Record: 22-14 (11-9 B1G, 5th) | 1x All-B1G second team, 1x Freshman team, 1x Defensive team, 2x Honorable Mentions | L, 72-61 to James Madison in NCAA Round of 64. 

All-Time Series: Wisconsin leads 22-17 (February 1, 2024  last matchup, 68-64 UW). 

Key Returners: Steven Crowl, F, Gr. | Max Klesmit, G, Sr. | John Blackwell, G, Soph. | Nolan Winter, F, Soph. | Kamari McGee, G, Sr. | Carter Gilmore, F, Sr. | Markus Ilver, F, Sr.

Key Additions: John Tonje, G, Gr. (Missouri) | Xavier Amos, F, Jr. (Northern Illinois). 

Key Departures: AJ Storr, G, Jr. (Kansas) | Tyler Wahl, F (Eligibility) | Chucky Hepburn, G, Sr. (Louisville) | Connor Essegian, G, Jr. (Nebraska). 

Outlook: A Wisconsin man through and through, Greg Gard has continued the consistent success of the Badgers who are on pace for 20 wins for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. 

Coming off an NCAA Tournament first round loss to James Madison last season, UW had some roster turnover during the offseason – including the departure of three starters – but only to a certain extent. The biggest loss was All-Big Ten second team pick AJ Storr who averaged a team-high 16.8 points per game last season before taking his talents to Kansas and Bill Self. Nebraska native and Bellevue West graduate Chucky Hepburn departed for Louisville after four seasons in Madison after being named to the Big Ten All-Defensive team. He was never the most prolific scorer (9.2 PPG), but added a team-leading 3.9 assists per contest and could shut down the opposing team’s top guards. 

Tyler Wahl was third on the squad with 10.6 PPG, but exhausted his eligibility while bench guard Connor Essegian traded one red for another by transferring to Nebraska, who takes on his former team for the first time on Sunday. 

But with eight players of the 11-man rotation returning for another season in Madison, Gard and his staff could focus on making only a couple additions instead of retooling the roster. That starts with another Nebraska native and Omaha Central product John Tonje, who has bounced back from a medical redshirt season in his one year at Missouri. He has matched the production left behind from Storr, leading the Badgers with 17.5 PPG (8th in B1G) and 4.8 RPG while shooting over 38% from three. 

Jan 21, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard John Tonje (9) dribbles the ball against UCLA Bruins guard Kobe Johnson (0) during the second half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Returning starters Steven Crowl – who was second on the team in scoring last season – has continued to average double figures (10.4) as well as Max Klesmit who’s equaled that scoring mark. One of the biggest stories of this team is the development of John Blackwell and Nolan Winter who have both excelled as starters after coming off the bench last year. Blackwell, who’s only a sophomore, has excelled pacing with Tonje in scoring with 16.4 PPG and 4.7 RPG. Winter rounds out the five double-digit scorers for Wisconsin with 10.4 PPG as a seven-foot second-year forward. 

The Badgers are top half in the conference in most offensive categories, but they do their damage from the charity stripe with a Big Ten-leading 85.5 team free-throw percentage. They’re also pretty disciplined with only 10.5 turnovers per contest which is fourth-lowest in the league, but have struggled to create turnovers with only 5.4 steals and 2.1 blocks per game which are both second-lowest among the 18-team conference. 

A two-point loss to UCLA on the road snapped a previous seven-game winning streak for UW who was rolling. With half of their losses being to ranked teams (No. 5 Marquette, No. 19 Illinois), this is another Badger team who takes care of the games they should win. This game qualifies as one of those and with Nebraska unraveling, I see Wisconsin defending its home floor with a win Sunday afternoon.

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