'Last Week Doesn't Matter': How Greg Gard, Badgers Plan to Move Past Ohio State Loss

The Wisconsin Badgers' first game decided by fewer than 10 points didn't come until January 6. Since then, the Badgers have been in a slew of dogfights with some dominant performances mixed in.

That changed Tuesday night, when they laid a dud against an Ohio State team that needed a victory to bolster its NCAA Tournament resume.

It was a jarring performance from the Badgers, who had just knocked off a pair of Top 10 teams. But the highs and lows of a season can be boiled down to a simple philosophy.

"You get what you earn," Greg Gard said Tuesday night. "You get what you deserve, and we did not deserve to win."

Wisconsin Badgers not straying from game-by-game approach

Greg Gard preached consistency and a short-sighted view after the Badgers' dominant victory over the Spartans last week, which was the program's 17th win over a top-10 opponent under Greg Gard.

Related: Wisconsin coach Greg Gard couldn't care less about the Badgers' Top-10 triumphs

While he wasn't pleased with the Badgers' effort and attention to detail against the Buckeyes, Gard reinforced his philosophy.

"Last week doesn't matter. You move on one game at a time," Gard said. "Just little things that we've been really good at... I mean 8-of-16 from the free throw line, 12 turnovers, those things obviously tell me we were not where we needed to be, and you move on to the next one. Just like it didn't matter what happened two weeks ago."

Wisconsin (a 77.8% FT shooting team): 8-16 (50%)

Ohio State (a 34.3% 3Pt shooting team): 11-21 (52.4%) https://t.co/3qlleWSfTh
— Cam Wilhorn (@CamWilhorn) February 18, 2026

And frankly, not much went right for the Badgers in Columbus.

"When we threw the ball up, I thought right from the beginning we did not have the same mentality to us, aggressiveness to us, physicality to us. Ohio State, they were much more aggressive, much more physical than we were. Set the tone early, and they were able to get that lead."

Devin Royal and Amare Bynum, both sub-30 percent three-point shooters, each knocked down multiple shots from beyond the arc.

Gard was quick to point out that Wisconsin did little to prevent both forwards from getting comfortable early, but on a night where the Badgers couldn't even get free throws to fall, each three was deflating.

Wisconsin's failure to contain Royal, Bynum and just about every other Buckeye was a clear shortcoming. Gard pointed to the Badgers lack of defensive edge, an issue he thinks will come up quite a bit in film review.

"We'll learn from this and we'll watch the film," Gard said. "I think I'll find a lot of just energy and effort and intangible things that will jump out."

Greg Gard on his group: "We had a non-aggressive mindset on both ends of the floor, and it showed."
— Benjamin Worgull (@TheBadgerNation) February 18, 2026

Wisconsin made several uncharacteristic mistakes, throwing errant passes and playing poor fundamental defense. Their 12 turnovers were tied for the fourth most in a game this season, and Ohio State's 54.4 percent field goal percentage was the best mark by a Badgers opponent this year.

For as bad as it looked, it was only one bad game, which isn't something Gard is going to get worked up over

"They're not robots. They're humans," Gard said. "If I could replicate how we play every game, I'd be selling it to all the coaches around the country."

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