Ranking the toughest Wisconsin Badgers nonconference games in the Greg Gard era

The University of Wisconsin isn't afraid of a nonconference challenge.

In order to get prepared for the rugged nature of Big Ten competition, the Badgers typically find themselves in uncomfortable environments against power-conference teams that are big and physical or quick and crafty. Usually once a year, the Badgers will see a team that voters view as one of the top 25 teams in the country.

Wisconsin has played at least one top 25 opponent in the nonconference portion of its schedule for 14 straight seasons, a streak that will extend one more year when Wisconsin plays No.9 BYU on Friday afternoon. The game is technically viewed as a neutral site contest but will highly favor the Cougars, which will playing only 50 minutes from its campus.

BYU might be down two starters, but the Cougars have one of the nation's top freshmen in AJ Dybantsa, who leads the team in scoring at 20.3 ppg, and a savvy veteran in senior Richie Saunders. Saunders is averaging 19.5 but had 25 points and seven rebounds in BYU's 91-89 win over Wisconsin in the second round of last year's NCAA Tournament.

Likely the toughest game on Wisconsin's nonconference schedule this year, we look back at the Greg Gard era (2016-present) and pick our five toughest nonconference games based on rankings, matchup, UW's team makeup, and outcome.

5. Nov. 27, 2017, 49-37 loss at No.18 Virginia

Nov 27, 2017; Charlottesville, VA, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard Khalil Iverson (21) and Virginia Cavaliers guard De'Andre Hunter (12) battle for a rebound in the first half at John Paul Jones Arena. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Wisconsin played a ranked Cavaliers team in consecutive seasons, and both were slugfests. While Virginia was ranked fourth a year later and beat the Badgers, 56-43, in the Battle 4 Atlantis finals, the 2017 road loss in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge was painful.

The Badgers were looking to replace five seniors from the previous year and had already lost to three ranked teams in the previous 11 days. The Badgers lost to Xavier by 10, to Baylor by five and UCLA by two and were in all three games late. Facing a Tony Bennett team known for stifling defense, the Badgers weren't nearly as competitive.

UW shot only 31.3 percent from the floor, were outrebounded 39-30, outscored 34-18 in the paint, got only two bench points in 63 combined minutes, and turned the ball over on 10 of its 30 second-half possessions.

The season would only get worse for the Badgers, as injuries and inconsistent play led UW to a 15-18 record, its first sub.500 season since 1997-98.

4. Nov. 24, 2022, 69-68 overtime loss vs. No.3 Kansas in The Bahamas

Nov 24, 2022; Paradise Island, BAHAMAS; Kansas Jayhawks guard Bobby Pettiford Jr. (0) hits the game winning shot to beat the Wisconsin Badgers in overtime at Imperial Arena. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Of all the nonconference games in the Gard era, this loss to the defending national champions might have hurt the most. Wisconsin's offense had been held to 60 points or less in three of the first four games entering the Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals, so missing shots at the rim and falling behind by 15 points was a disastrous spot.

After shooting 30.8 percent in the first half to dig a hefty deficit, the Badgers started to find offense with freshman Connor Essegian and junior guard Max Klesmit. Essegian scored 11 of his career-high 17 points with Klesmit scoring five of his 13 on a 22-7 run that even the score.

After Kansas ripped off a 10-0 run to erase a brief Wisconsin lead, the Badgers made a final surge with Tyler Wahl. Quiet for more of the tournament, Wahl scored the game’s next nine points to give the Badgers a 61-60 lead with 49.4 remaining. He scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half.

UW could have clinched the win in regulation, but the Badgers failed to secure an offensive rebound up three on Kansas’s last regulation possession – leading to a Kevin McCullar three-pointer – and point guard Chucky Hepburn airballed a perimeter shot. It was part of a difficult shooting stretch for Hepburn (5-for-33 over his last three games with no more than two baskets in any game) that plagued him throughout the year.

After starting overtime with four empty possessions, Wahl cleaned up his own miss for a three-point play to give Wisconsin a 66-65 lead with 1:35 remaining. He lifted Wisconsin again with a low-post bucket with 21 seconds remaining, giving the visitors back the one-point lead.

UW narrowly pulled the upset when it forced a missed three-pointer from Zach Clemence, but Wahl could not corral the rebound and the bounce when right to Pettiford, who finished off the glass as time expired.

Kansas coach Bill Self admitted that Wisconsin “totally outplayed” his team in the second half and his team had “nothing going” after halftime, only be able to survive in part because the Badgers failed to get a defensive rebound both at the end of regulation and overtime that led to buckets.

“We made two plays that basically gave us the win,” Self said. “We were not the best team today.”

Wisconsin ended up missing the NCAA Tournament in 2022-23, partly due to the fact the Badgers didn't have a quality win (like knocking off Kansas) to show on their resume.

3. Dec. 7, 2024, 88-74 loss at No.5 Marquette

Dec 7, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard John Tonje (9) looks to pass the ball as Marquette Golden Eagles forward Ben Gold (12) defends during the second half at Fiserv Forum. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Wisconsin's 8-0 start came to a crashing halt four days earlier when the Badgers settled for too many jumpers and couldn't slow Michigan's transition offense. The latter was a problem facing a Golden Eagles team that was led by guard Kam Jones, whose strength was his ability to drive to the rim and facilitate or finish.

Jones did just that with 32 points on 21 shots, six assists and no turnovers. Wisconsin showed an inability to consistently guard the ball, maintain gap integrity, and follow simple principles in preventing lane-line drives. Most of the problems all happened over an ugly stretch in the second half that saw Marquette score 51 points with only five three-point shots.

In the first 20 possessions of the second half, Wisconsin scored 21 points on 7-for-14 shooting but allowed Marquette to score 35 on 15-for-25. While the Badgers committed seven turnovers, the Golden Eagles committed only one.

Breaking it down even further, a 15-possession stretch where the Badgers went from up one to down 12 because of seven turnovers. Wisconsin turned the ball over 16 times which Marquette converted into 18 points while also being outscored 44-28 in the paint.

2. Nov. 23, 2016, 71-56 loss to No.4 North Carolina in Lahaina, Hawaii

Nov 23, 2016; Lahaina, Hawaii, USA; Wisconsin forward Nigel Hayes can't save a loose ball in the 2016 Maui Invitational championship game. | Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

The Tar Heels retained some key pieces from the previous season when they lost the national championship to Villanova on Kris Jenkins' buzzer beater. A team focusedon the ultimate prize, North Carolina averaged 96.5 points in its first six games and was winning by 29.3 points per game.

Four of Wisconsin's starters had at least one Final Four run with the Badgers but things weren't quite firing on all cylinderes five games into the season. The length of North Carolina's defense didn't help matters.

Wisconsin missed its first 11 from the field and needed nearly 7 1/2 minutes to score. The Tar Heels held the Badgers to 38 percent shooting and leading scorer Bronson Koenig was a 1-for-13. A veteran of two Final Fours, Nigel Hayes was 3-for-11.

The Badgers eventually got things squared away to finish the regular season tied for second in the Big Ten and were a buzzer beater away from the Elite Eight. On the other hand, North Carolina finished what it started by beating Gonzaga in the national title game.

1. Dec. 9, 2023, 98-73 loss at No.1 Arizona

Dec 9, 2023; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Pelle Larsson (3) shoots a basket against Wisconsin Badgers forward Nolan Winter (31) during the second half at McKale Center. | Zachary BonDurant-Imagn Images

Wisconsin hadn't played the nation's top-ranked team in the nonconference portion of the schedule since 1978. After knocking off No.3 Marquette a week earlier and winning at Michigan State four days before, the Badgers realized they were still a long ways away from being a top-tier team.

The Wildcats shot 56.3 percent in the first half in building a 17-point lead and exerted their will throughout the 40 minutes with all five starters reaching double figures.

Tied at 23 with 8:50 remaining in the first half, Arizona broke the game open with a 20-2 run in an 11-possession stretch. The Wildcats made three of their eight first-half three-pointers on the run, catching UW out of position with its ball screen defense, and used their size and athleticism to deliver crowd-pumping dunks at the rim.

Defensively, the Wildcats collapsed the lane to prevent dribble penetration and opened the mid-range jump shot. UW bought it and, unlike Arizona gaining momentum by hitting early open shots, the Badgers were 7-for-26 (26.9 percent) on two-point shots outside the paint.

On the decisive run, Wisconsin missed three jumpers, two three-pointers, one free throw, and committed four turnovers. The only offense UW generated was two Tyler Wahl’s free throws. Gard lamented that the run felt like “50-to-2.”

The Wildcats averaged 1.38 points per possession, scoring the most points against UW since the 1994 NCAA Tournament.

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