John Blackwell brings up the ball against Illinois

Nolan Kromke

Men's Basketball February 20, 2025 Jake Ross

Starting Five: Badgers stay home to face Ducks

Wisconsin looks to improve on five game win streak

MADISON, Wis. — Riding a five-game winning streak, the No. 11 Wisconsin men’s basketball team continues its home stretch, facing the Oregon Ducks this Saturday.

Tip at the Kohl Center is set for 11:00 a.m. (CT) on Fox. Tickets are sold out but can be purchased on SeatGeek. Fans can also listen to the action on the Badger Sports Network.

UW will recognize its 2000 Final Four team prior to tipoff.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW:

Pretty elite company for @johntonje1!

Tonje is the first Badger to score 30+ points in back-to-back games since @MichaelFinley pic.twitter.com/NN7Mt2oXCT
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) February 19, 2025

1. LAST TIME OUT

Wisconsin earned redemption against Illinois, taking down the Fighting Illini, 95-74, and ending a nine-game series losing streak. The Badgers led the majority of the game, progressively increasing their lead throughout. After going up, 47-41 at half, Wisconsin outscored Illinois 48-33 the rest of the way. The team won its fifth game in a row, and jumped to No. 3 in the Big Ten standings.

John Tonje became the first Badger since Michael Finley in 1994 to post back-to-back games with 30+ points, scoring 31 points with four steals. Steven Crowl poured in 20 points, with seven rebounds and five assists. John Blackwell added in 16 points and collected six rebounds - his third straight double-figure performance.

While the offense was electric, scoring 90+ points in back-to-back conference games for the first time since 1992, Wisconsin’s physicality on both ends of the floor led them to the victory. Heading into Tuesday's game, Illinois was the second highest rebounding team in the country. The Badgers excellent post play allowed them to outrebound the Illini, however, 39 to 30 - the most Illinois has been outrebounded all season.

2. BIG STEVE MASTERCLASS

A huge part of Wisconsin’s physicality and post play was senior Steven Crowl’s performance. Crowl had one of his best games of the season, posting a season-high 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field. All season long, Crowl’s created better interior looks for himself due to the way defense’s need to respect his shooting. Tuesday was no different, with Crowl going 3-for-3 on his 3-point attempts.

Big Steve’s game went beyond just his scoring, however. Crowl was one of the biggest components to Wisconsin’s rebounding success, collecting seven boards. His passing was as sharp as ever, dishing out five dimes. He found fellow big man Nolan Winter twice in the game, leading to two emphatic dunks. His passing and scoring down low allowed the Badgers to dominant in the paint, outscoring Illinois 48-28 in the post.

Steve has found his rhythm on the defensive side of things recently. Before February 4, Crowl had three career games with two steals. Since then, Crowl’s accomplished the feat in three of Wisconsin’s last four games. Despite playing less minutes on average this season, Crowl is averaging career highs in steals per game and blocks per game.

Carter Gilmore is 8-for-14 on 3-point attempts during February

3. FAB FEBRUARY

Wisconsin has been on a tear in the month of February, winning its first five games of the month. Not only is the team accumulating wins, but it's doing so in dominant fashion. The Badgers have beaten their opponents by an average of 12.0 points - with three of those wins coming on the road, including one against No. 7 Purdue.

UW has shot up 10 spots in the AP poll since the beginning of the month, going from No. 21 on February 3, to its most recent ranking of No. 11 on February 17. The Badgers have also jumped up in the conference regular season title race. At the end of January, Wisconsin sat at sixth in the league with a 6-4 record. The team is now third in the Big Ten with an 11-4 record, and 1.5 games behind Michigan for the top spot.

Wisconsin is now off to one of its best 26 game starts in program history. The Badgers are 21-5 through 26 games, matching the team’s fifth best start overall, and the best since Greg Gard became head coach. In six of the seven seasons in which Wisconsin has started off 21-5, the team has finished either first or second in the Big Ten standings.

The Oregon Ducks take on the Wisconsin Badgers in round two of the 2023 NIT Tournament at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Oregon on March 21, 2023 (Eric Evans Photography)

Oregon's Nathan Bittle (32) guards Steven Crowl (22)

4. OBSERVING OREGON

The Badgers next opponent is Oregon, the first time the two teams will face off as Big Ten foes. Oregon is 19-8 this season with an 8-8 record in conference play. The Ducks have recovered from a five-game losing streak they faced last month, and are now winners of their last three games. The most recent of which was an 80-78 road victory against Iowa.

Dana Altman is at the helm for Oregon, currently in his 15th season as head coach. Altman has a 364-160 career record with the Ducks, and has taken the team to the NCAA Tournament eight times. He’s stressed discipline to Oregon this season, who seldom turnover the ball or foul opponents. Conversely, the Ducks are one of the best free throw shooting teams in the conference, ranking third with a 76.3% shooting clip.

Oregon is a balanced team, with nine players averaging over 10.0 minutes per game. Sophomore guard Jackson Shelstad leads the team in scoring with a 13.3 average. Senior big man Nathan Bittle provides 12.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Villanova transfer, TJ Bamba is an all-around wing averaging 10.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.8 steals per game.

Max Klesmit (11) scored 18 points against Oregon in the 2023 NIT

5. SERIES HISTORY

Even though this is the first time Wisconsin and Oregon will face off as conference opponents, the two teams had notable matchups through the years. This will be the tenth time the two teams will meet, with seven of the previous nine games taking place during postseason play. Wisconsin won the only game the teams have ever played in Madison, a 74-47 victory in November of 1988.

Wisconsin leads the all time series, 6-3. The last time the teams met was in the 2023 NIT - where Wisconsin won 61-58.

Max Klesmit and Steven Crowl each put in good performances during that game. Klesmit scored a game high 18 points, going 6-for-7 from the free throw line. Steven Crowl enjoyed a well-rounded game, finishing with nine points, 10 rebounds, and three assists. Carter Gilmore and Kamari McGee each made appearances in the game as well.

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