The No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team will tip off the second game of their three-game homestand against the Oregon Ducks on Saturday. This will be the first matchup between the Ducks and Badgers as Big Ten Conference opponents.
The only other times these two programs have faced off against each other have been in the NCAA Tournament or NIT. The last matchup took place in Eugene, Oregon and ended in a three-point victory for the Badgers. This will be the first visit for the Ducks to the Kohl Center in their program’s history.
The Badgers are red-hot as of late. They haven’t lost a game since January and are currently on a five-game winning streak. Wisconsin’s offense has been on fire as of late with back-to-back 90-point games over their wins against top-ranked Purdue and Illinois.
Guard John Tonje has led the way down the stretch for Wisconsin all season. Tonje scored at least 30 points in back-to-back games, the first Badger to accomplish this since Michael Finley in 1994.
Tonje is also the first Badger since the 1985-86 season to have four 30-point games in one season. With Tonje breaking records left and right, the Badgers have continued to get better and better throughout the course of their season.
Wisconsin will face a Ducks team currently sitting at eighth in the Big Ten standings. After a 15-2 start to the season that sent them as high as No. 9 in the country, the Ducks have lost six of their last 10 games.
In spite of their last 10 games, Oregon will come into the Kohl Center on a three-game winning streak. Their most recent victory being a back and forth, tightly contested two point win over the Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City.
Oregon is led by sophomore guard Jackson Shelstad and senior center Nate Bittle. In Big Ten play, opponents have limited Shelstad to under 10 points just twice, so the Badgers certainly need to contain him as best as they can.
Despite their recent struggles, Oregon is still considered a “Quad 1” opponent and is currently a No.1 seed in Joe Lunardi’s bracketology. A win over Oregon for the Badgers would be a great resume booster for the NCAA Tournament.
Wisconsin is finally starting to get that national spotlight they deserve, as they are arguably the most efficient offense in the country. With a win on Saturday, Wisconsin will most certainly be ranked as a top 10 team in the nation.
Tip-off is at 11 a.m. at the Kohl Center.
