Wisconsin Badgers Coach Greg Gard All-Time NCAA Tournament Record and Best Finishes

MADISON, Wis. - Buzzer beaters, heartbreakers, and injuries have defined the NCAA Tournament history of Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard.

Preparing the Badgers for their eighth NCAA Tournament under his watch, which will begin Thursday morning when fifth-seeded Wisconsin plays 12th-seed High Point at the Moda Center in Portland, Ore., Gard has led Wisconsin (24-10) to a top-five seed in four appearances but is still looking to lead the program to its first Elite Eight under his watch and the first Sweet 16 since 2017.

Here's a look at Wisconsin's NCAA Tournament history under Gard.

2016

Round of 68: No.7 Wisconsin 47, No.10 Pittsburgh
Round of 32: No.7 Wisconsin 66, No.2 Xavier 63
Round of 16: No.6 Notre Dame 61, No.7 Wisconsin 56

It may not have been pretty, especially finishing just 32.1 percent from the floor and trailing 22-16 at halftime, but Gard got a win in his NCAA Tournament debut thanks to his freshman center. Ethan Happ finished with a game-high 15 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.

A back-and-forth game from tip to finish in the round of 32 was decided with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Bronson Koenig that will go down as one of the greatest postseason shots in school history. With 2.0 seconds remaining and Happ inbounding the ball near midcourt, Koenig received the pass, ran to the corner, and hoisted up a contested, fallaway 3-pointer that hit nothing but net, completing a comeback where the deficit was nine down with six minutes left.

Wisconsin's late-game heroics didn't carry over from St. Louis to Philadelphia, as Notre Dame used an 8-0 run over the final 19 seconds to end the Badgers' season. Wisconsin committed turnovers on two of its final three possessions that led to four Notre Dame points. Happ led the way for Wisconsin by posting his 10th double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

2017

Round of 64: No.8 Wisconsin 84, No.9 Virginia Tech 74
Round of 32: No.8 Wisconsin 65, No.1 Villanova 62
Round of 16: No.4 Florida 84, No.8 Wisconsin 83 OT

Koenig made a school-record eight 3-pointers and scored 28 points, while fellow senior Nigel Hayes added 16, as Wisconsin knocked off the Hokies to set up a matchup with the nation's top-ranked team and defending national champions.

Wisconsin trailed Villanova 57-50 with just over 5:00 remaining, but Koenig battled through foul trouble to score 17 points to tie the game with a three-pointer in the closing minutes. Fellow senior Nigel Hayes (19 points) scored the game’s biggest bucket, dropping in a reverse layup in traffic with 11.4 seconds left to gain a 64-62 lead.

Two defensive stops on a drive to the rim and on an inbounds pass allowed Wisconsin to knock off a No.1 seed for the third time in four years.

Unfortunately, Wisconsin's tournament run ended with self-inflicted breakdowns for the second straight season. Zak Showalter was set to be the star after he forced overtime with a one-legged, leaning 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left in regulation, as the Badgers wiped out a 12-point, second-half deficit in the last 4:15.

The Badgers built a five-point lead in overtime and led by two with four seconds left, but Wisconsin didn't stop or slow Florida guard Chris Chiozza from dribbling the length of the court, allowing him to hit an off-balance three-pointer to eliminate the Badgers.

It's a teaching clip that Gard still uses to this day, which paid dividends in UW's 92-90 overtime win at Illinois earlier this year.

2019

Round of 64: No.12 Oregon 72, No.5 Wisconsin 54

Wisconsin's return to the NCAA Tournament following a one-year absence was brief, as the Badgers shot 33.3 percent overall, 6-for-30 from three, and were outscored by 18 points by the Pac-12 tournament champions. Ducks guard Payton Pritchard was the star with a game-high 19 points. The Ducks shot 70.8 percent from the floor in the second half and went 5-for-6 from three.

2021

Round of 64: No.9 Wisconsin 85, No.8 North Carolina 62
Round of 32: No.1 Baylor 76, No.9 Wisconsin 63

After the pandemic wiped out the 2020 postseason, when the Badgers were the regular-season Big Ten champions and playing their best basketball of the season, UW's up-and-down season carried into the NCAA Tournament.

Playing inside the NCAA’s “controlled-environment” in the greater Indianapolis area due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wisconsin got a season-high 29 points from Brad Davison, 21 points from D'Mitrik Trice, and shot 48.1% from three (13-27). UW's defense delivered, too, as the Badgers held the Tar Heels to just 38.5 percent shooting in head coach Roy Williams' only opening-round loss in 30 NCAA Tournaments.

Moving from Mackey Arena to Hinkle Fieldhouse, the Badgers fell to the Bears and their physicality. Both teams made 25 baskets and eight three-pointers, but the eventual national champions made 13 more free throws and committed 10 fewer turnovers to knock out UW.

2022

Round of 64: No.3 Wisconsin 67, No.14 Colgate 60
Round of 32: No.11 Iowa State 54, No.3 Wisconsin 49

Playing in front of a pro-Wisconsin crowd in Milwaukee, the regular-season Big Ten champions got 25 points from All-American guard Johnny Davis, including UW’s last 14 points to seal the opening victory.

Davis led UW two nights later with 17 points, nine rebounds, and two steals, but a first-half injury to point guard Chucky Hepburn disjointed the offense. The Badgers shot a season-low 29.8 percent from the floor, including just 2-for-22 from 3-point range, in one of the more disappointing results in the Gard era.

2024

Round of 64: No.12 James Madison 72, No.5 Wisconsin 61

Wisconsin couldn't parlay its 2023 NIT Final Four run into NCAA Tournament success in 2024, as the Badgers' banged-up roster ran into a buzzsaw from one of the nation's top mid-majors. Max Klesmit had 18 second-half points, but UW was unable to overcome a deficit as large as 17 in the first half. UW committed a season-high 19 turnovers, 13 of which came in the first half alone.

2025

Round of 64: No.3 Wisconsin 85, No.14 Montana 66
Round of 32: No.6 BYU 91, No.3 Wisconsin 89

Being shipped to Denver instead of Milwaukee for the opening round, Wisconsin took out any perceived slight on the Grizzlies, shooting 55.4 percent from the field, with five players reaching double-figures. John Blackwell led the way with 19 points, as UW held a lead for over 39 minutes in the contest. The Badgers pounded the glass, outrebounded the Grizzlies 40-29, and scored 38 points in the paint.

Two days later, guard John Tonje had 37 points - surpassing Michael Finley’s 36 points in 1994 for the most by a Badger in a tournament game - and led a furious 14-point, second-half comeback. The All-American scored 26 points in the second half but couldn't get his game-tying shot to fall in the closing seconds.