Wisconsin Badgers begin postseason against hungry Washington squad

Earning the No. 5 seed in the Big Ten Tournament for a third straight season, Wisconsin will begin its chase for a first conference tournament championship in 11 years when it hosts Washington this afternoon.

The Badgers have had success as the No.5 seed, advancing to the conference title game in each of the last two seasons. UW’s nine championship game appearances is tied with Ohio State for the most in the history of the tournament

Here is a look at both teams and a prediction for this afternoon's contest.

No.12 Washington (16-16, 7-13 Big Ten) vs. No.5 Wisconsin (22-9, 14-6 Big Ten)

Date/Time – Thursday, March 12, 1:30 p.m.
Arena – United Center
TV – Big Ten Network (Jeff Levering, Don MacLean, Rick Pizzo)
Radio – Badgers Radio Network (Matt Lepay and Brian Butch)
Coaches - Greg Gard at Wisconsin (234-126 in his 11th season). Danny Sprinkle at Washington (29-34 in his second year; 138-74 in his 7th season)
Series – Washington leads 3-2
Point Spread – Wisconsin -7.5

Wisconsin probable starters

2 Nick Boyd (6-3 Senior Guard, 20.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 4.0 apg)
7 Andrew Rohde (6-6 Senior Guard, 6.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.9 apg)
25 John Blackwell (6-4 Junior Guard, 18.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.3 apg)
31 Nolan Winter (6-11 Junior Forward, 13.3 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 1.5 apg)
32 Aleksas Bieliauskas (6-10 Freshman Forward, 4.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 0.7 apg)
Off the bench
0 Braeden Carrington (6-5 Senior Guard, 8.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.1 apg)
22 Austin Rapp (6-10 Sophomore Forward, 9.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.6 apg)
23 Will Garlock (7-0 Freshman Center, 1.0 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 0.7 apg)
Player to watch
Boyd has scored in double figures in every game this season and authored 19 20-point games this year (including 9 of the last 12 games) - trailing only Northwestern's Nick Martinelli (23) in the Big Ten. In the last 30 years, Alando Tucker is the only Badger with more 20-point games.

Time to create more March memories pic.twitter.com/Pfyi6r83MB
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) March 12, 2026

Washington probable starters

0 Quimari Peterson (6-1 Senior Guard, 9.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.2 apg)
5 Zoom Diallo (6-4 Sophomore Guard, 15.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 4.4 apg)
6 Hannes Steinbach (6-11 Freshman Forward, 18.3 ppg, 11.6 rpg, 1.6 apg)
9 Wesley Yates III (6-4 Sophomore Guard, 13.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.3 apg)
24 Lathan Sommerville (6-10 Sophomore Center, 4.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.2 apg)
Off the bench
30 Courtland Muldrew (6-3 Freshman Guard, 3.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.3 apg)
33 Nikola Dzepina (6-10 Freshman Forward, 2.8 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 0.7 apg)
Player to watch
Diallo led the Huskies with his first-career 20-10 performance, finishing with 22 points and 11 assists in the second-round victory over USC. Diallo scored 15 of his 22 points after halftime.

“Adversity, it has not defined us all year”

Take a look at what @UWCoachSprinks had to say in the locker room after our second round win in the Big Ten Tournament! ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/58npfmzqNr
— Washington Men's Basketball (@UW_MBB) March 11, 2026

Series notes

Washington holds a 3-2 lead in the all-time series, but Wisconsin has won the two meetings since the Huskies joined the Big Ten in 2024-25.

Braeden Carrington scored a career-high 32 points (school-record nine 3FGs) in this season's first meeting. Also in that meeting, Nick Boyd posted 22 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Nolan Winter logged 13 points (3-5 3FGs) and 9 rebounds.

The Badgers held the Huskies to just 21 first-half points en route to a 15-point lead at halftime.

The Badgers hit a total of 17 threes, with six players cashing in from behind the arc. Overall, UW shot 45.9 percent from the field and turned it over just six times.

On to the third round! #B1GMBBT

🎟️: https://t.co/VKK1GRfxn9
📝: https://t.co/gRvjK7fu54 pic.twitter.com/9f5bdR3XJM
— Big Ten Conference (@bigten) March 12, 2026

Wisconsin notes

Since Jan. 1, UW is third in the NCAA in offensive efficiency (according to BartTorvik.com). UW's 83.3 PPG average ranks third in the Big Ten and would be the third-best mark in school history.

UW has overcome 10-point deficits in five of its victories in 2026 - at No.2 Michigan, at Minnesota, vs. Minnesota, vs. Ohio State and at No. 8 Illinois. UW's five comebacks of 10+ points are tied for the second-most in the country, trailing only Cal.

UW is fourth in the country in turnover percentage at 12.9 percent. Since Jan. 1, UW is averaging only 7.9 turnovers per game.

Wisconsin won the 2015 Big Ten Tournament in Chicago at the United Center. The Badgers also advanced to the championship game in Chicago in both 2007 and 2013. The Badgers are 14-10 all-time in Big Ten tournament games at the United Center.

Washington notes

Wednesday was UW’s first conference tournament victory since 2022, snapping a three-game losing streak.

Quimari Peterson knocked down a season-high five three pointers against the Trojans, adding four steals. Peterson has converted at least three threes in each of the last three games.

Courtland Muldrew scored a career-high nine points for the third game in a row, setting new career highs of 27 minutes and seven rebounds off the bench.

Hannes Steinbach secured his 21st double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Prediction

Like the first matchup between the two programs, Washington only has eight players at its disposal due to a combination of injuries and players leaving the program. Only Steinbach was recognized with the all-conference awards, so USC made it a point to throw double teams at him, come out and dig, and box him out.

It sort of worked, considering Steinbach was 4-for-10 but he still had 11 rebounds, and his teammates took advantage of the driving lanes that defensive game plan created. Washington had three other players reach double figures and hit 11 three-pointers, showing that the Huskies still have some talent in that undermanned roster.

Perimeter shooting was a big part of Wisconsin's 17-point win in Seattle less than two weeks ago (UW's 17 threes was a program record for a road game that lasted just one week), but the Badgers were coming off a hugely disappointing loss at Oregon and overwhelmed Washington with their energy and put the Huskies on their heels.

Washington is aware of that, and Sprinkle vowed to make sure the Huskies respond to the adversity like they did against USC Tuesday. However, he's also aware that Wisconsin has two of the best guards in the country in Blackwell and Boyd who could have something to prove.

"They're going to be coming with a chip on their shoulder because they both could have easily been first-team all-league," he said. "I believe that playing against those two, that's what they do (shoot threes)."

Having Winter back on the floor would be huge in helping defend Steinbach, who had 22 points (8-for-11) and 11 rebounds in the first meeting. UW will also need to do a better job on Diallo, who had 21 points on 15 shots.

However, if Wisconsin runs its offense the way it has the last few games, the Badgers should advance to the quarterfinals.

Prediction: Wisconsin by 14
Worgull's Prediction: 22-9 (17-14 ATS)
Points off Prediction: 373 (11.9 ppg)