Preview: Wisconsin readies to face one of the counties best centers in Oregon's Nate Bittle

Wisconsin opens up its West Coast swing with a trip to Eugene to take on Oregon tonight, the first of three of four on the road for the Badgers to close the regular season.

UW is coming off of an 84-71 win over Iowa on Sunday at the Kohl Center, its 10th win in its last 13 games. While now mathematically eliminated from winning a share of the Big Ten title, the Badgers still one game out of fifth place and 1.5 games out of a crowded top half of the conference. The top four seed get a bye in the conference tournament.

Here is a look at both teams, along with a prediction for tonight's contest.

Wisconsin (19-8, 11-5 Big Ten) vs. Oregon (10-17, 3-13)

Date/Time – Wednesday, February 25, 10 p.m.
Arena – Matthew Knight Arena
TV – Big Ten Network (Guy Haberman and Don MacLean)
Radio – Badgers Radio Network (Matt Lepay and Brian Butch)
Coaches - Greg Gard at Wisconsin (232-125 in his 11th season). Dana Altman (380-179 in his 15th year; 790-422 in his 37th season)
Series – Wisconsin leads 6-4; 2-0 in Eugene
Point Spread – Wisconsin -4.5

Wisconsin starts its West Coast swing tonight when it faces Oregon in Eugene. How to watch, listen, or stream the #Badgers game, the betting line, and things to know https://t.co/dntWSd7mok
— Benjamin Worgull (@TheBadgerNation) February 25, 2026

Wisconsin probable starters

2 Nick Boyd (6-3 Senior Guard, 20.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.8 apg)
7 Andrew Rohde (6-6 Senior Guard, 6.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.9 apg)
25 John Blackwell (6-4 Junior Guard, 18.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.4 apg)
31 Nolan Winter (6-11 Junior Forward, 13.8 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 1.6 apg)
32 Aleksas Bieliauskas (6-10 Freshman Forward, 4.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 0.6 apg)
Off the bench
0 Braeden Carrington (6-5 Senior Guard, 7.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.0 apg)
13 Hayden Jones (6-6 Freshman Guard, 1.9 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 0.4 apg)
22 Austin Rapp (6-10 Sophomore Forward, 9.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.6 apg)
Player to watch
After delivering a 27-point, 10-assist and 9-rebound showing over Iowa, Boyd ranks third in the Big Ten in scoring and looks to become the first Badger since Michael Finley in 1995 to average 20.0 ppg.

Big Ten hoops after dark
Badgers 🆚 Ducks
⏰ 10 p.m. CT
📍 Eugene, Oregon
📺 @BigTenNetwork
🔗 https://t.co/J8C5gsKSjC pic.twitter.com/73ZAJ1zIc0
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) February 25, 2026

Oregon probable starters

5 Takai Simpkins (6-4 Senior Guard, 12.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.1 apg)
10 Kwame Evans Jr. (6-10 Junior Forward, 12.9 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 2.2 apg)
12 Drew Carter (6-3 Senior Guard, 2.4 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 0.4 apg)
13 Sean Stewart (6-9 Junior Forward, 6.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.0 apg)
32 Nate Bittle (7-0 Senior Center, 16.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.5 apg)
Off the bench
4 Dezdrick Lindsay (6-6 Senior Forward, 5.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.5 apg)
23 Wei Lin (6-4 Sophomore Guard, 6.4 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 1.6 apg)
24 Jamari Phillips (6-4 Sophomore Guard, 3.0 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 0.6 apg)
Player to watch
Averaging a career-high in scoring, Bittle has scored 14 or more points in all five games since returning from injury. He also had a career-best four steals against USC on Saturday.

There are still four games left of the Big Ten regular season, but there should be no debate.

Wisconsin #Badgers guard Nick Boyd belongs on the All-Big Ten first team, and his numbers against the league's best teams back that up.https://t.co/Gw1kVNXnP5
— Benjamin Worgull (@TheBadgerNation) February 24, 2026

Series notes

Four of the six meetings in the series have come in the postseason (three NCAA Tournament, 1 NIT). UW is 3-1 in those games, including NCAA Tournament wins in 2014 and 2015 on the Badgers' run to the Final Four.

Wisconsin won, 61-58, in its only trip to the Matthew Knight Arena, advancing to the NIT semifinals.

Five Badgers have seen action against Oregon: Nolan Winter (11 points with 3 boards), John Blackwell (6 points and 7 rebounds), and Jack Janicki (3 rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench all saw action in last season's meeting.

Nick Boyd faced the Ducks last season while with San Diego State, totaling 15 points (3-4 3FGs), two rebounds and an assist in 29 minutes.

Austin Rapp played at Oregon last season while with Portland, finishing with nine points (3-8 3FGs), 9 rebounds and five assists in an 80-70 overtime loss.

Wisconsin notes

Wisconsin has faced the nation’s 29th-toughest schedule and have posted the 27th-ranked strength of record. According to the NET rankings, UW is 10-8 in Quad 1 & 2 games.

The Badgers are 4-3 in true road games, owning a pair of top-10 wins.

Blackwell and Boyd are on pace to be the fourth duo in school history to average 18.0 points per game and the first since Jon Leuer (18.3 ppg) and Jordan Taylor (18.1) in the 2010-11 season. UW's other duos happened in 1988-89 (Danny Jones (20.4) and Trent Jackson (19.1)) and in 1979-80 (Wes Matthews (19.6) and Claude Gregory (18.4)).

During the Gard era (since 2015-16), Wisconsin is 128-82 (.610) in Big Ten play. That trails only Purdue and Michigan State for the most league wins and best win percentage in B1G play during that span.

Oregon notes

Kwame Evans Jr. recorded his fourth 20-point outing of the season at USC and set a new career high with 11 made free throws (11-13).

Drew Carter net a career-high 11 points against USC, his second career double-figure scoring outing.

Dezdrick Lindsay scored a career-high 16 points (6-10 FG, 4-8 3FG) on 2/14 vs. Penn State. His six made field goals and four three-pointers tied his career-bests.

Wei Lin scored a career-high 23 points (8-14 FG, 6-12 3FG) in an overtime loss at Rutgers in early January, netting a career-best six three pointers, including multiple at the end of regulation to send the game to OT. He added career highs of five assists and two steals on the night.

Prediction

Wisconsin needs to be wary of the wounded Duck.

Bittle and guard Jackson Shelstad were expected to be the key pieces to Oregon in its second year of the Big Ten, established returning starters who led the Ducks on a surge down the stretch to reach the NCAA Tournament. It hasn't gone according to plan.

Shelstad played 12 games before being lost for the season after multiple hand injuries, and Bittle missed a month with a lower-body injury. Not surprisingly, it's been a battle since the start.

Even with no postseason bid likely, the Ducks haven't packed it in. Oregon has won two out of the last three, including a surprising 71-70 road win at USC the last time out. Evans Jr. was the leading scorer with 21 points and eight rebounds, but Bittle was the key piece. He registered his third double-double of the season (14 points, 11 rebounds, 4 steals) and sealed the win with two free throws in the final seconds.

In the Ducks' win over Penn State on Valentine's Day, their first home win since December 28 with Shelstad got hurt, Bittle had 22 points by going 6-9 from the field and 8-11 from the free throw line.

A third-team all-conference pick last season and a Big Ten preseason All-Big Ten pick this year, Bittle hasn't forgotten how to play. He can post up, shoot from the perimeter, rebound, block shot, and impact the game on multiple levels. Wisconsin saw that firsthand last year.

Bittle had 23 points in the overtime victory at Wisconsin, scoring 12 points in the second half as Oregon erasing a double-digit lead and scored six of their 11 overtime points. He hurt Wisconsin with his hook shot on the left block and his rebounding, like the one he outmuscled UW for in overtime that led to two free throws that put Oregon ahead for good.

If UW doesn't lose that game (or at home to Penn State a short time later), the Badgers are likely headed to Milwaukee for the NCAA Tournament and are better positioned for a deeper postseason run.

This matchup should feel personal to Winter. Bittle was/is regarded one of the best true centers in power-conference basketball when he's healthy, but Winter is having an overlooked season. He is fifth in the Big Ten in rebounding and ranks second in the conference with 12 double-doubles.

He's also producing offensively. While his outside shot hasn't been there (32.5 percent), Winter's 70.9 two-point percentage ranks fourth nationally. He was 6-for-8 from two against Iowa.

Winter had UW's highest plus/minus differential last year against Oregon (+9) but didn't impact the game like Bittle did. He'll have a chance to state his case tonight.

UW is still in the running for the No.2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. The Badgers need to win games like this. I am guessing having a leader like Boyd will make sure they don't have a drop in intensity in consecutive road games.

"We've got a chance to put ourselves in a really good position," Boyd said," so just got to stay focused."

Prediction: Wisconsin by 16
Worgull's Prediction: 20-7 (15-12 ATS)
Points off Prediction: 305 (11.3 ppg)