Wisconsin Badgers
Iowa
Five Things to Know: UW vs. Iowa
February 19, 2026 | Men's Basketball
Badgers look to bounce back at home
MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin men’s basketball team looks to bounce back against rival Iowa on Sunday at the Kohl Center.
The Badgers fell to Ohio State in Columbus on Tuesday, 86-69, which snapped a two-game UW winning streak that came against consecutive top-10 foes (Illinois, Michigan State).
Sunday’s tipoff is set for 3 p.m. CT. The game is sold out, but fans can find tickets on SeatGeek.com. Those who can’t make it to Madison can watch on FoxSports1 as Jack Kizer and Nick Bahe have the call, or listen to Matt Lepay and Brian Butch on the Badger Radio Network.
A SPECTACULAR CV
Despite Tuesday’s loss, the Badgers (18-8, 10-5 Big Ten) still boast one of the country’s best resumes, being one-of-four teams with three top-10 wins, nationally. Bucky also sits sixth in the Big Ten, one game behind the double-bye No.3 and No. 4 seeds for the conference tournament. Analytically, Wisconsin sits 26th in the NCAA’s Wins Above Bubble (WAB), one of the key metrics used by the Selection Committee. UW has faced the nation’s 28th-hardest schedule, posting the 31st-best strength of record. According to the NET rankings, UW is 8-8 in Quadrant 1 and 2 games, including a trio of Quad 1A wins, of which only 14 schools have more.
SCOUTING THE HAWKEYES
Sunday’s contest features an incredibly similar Iowa team from a resume standpoint. The Hawkeyes sit 37th in the WAB, 30th in strength of record, and are coming off their best win of the season - a 57-52 home win over No. 9 Nebraska on Tuesday night. UW holds a narrow 91-86 series lead over Iowa, winning six of their last seven meetings. The Badgers swept UI last season, winning 116-85 in Madison and 74-63 in Iowa City. In last season’s game at the Kohl Center, Bucky erupted for a Kohl Center record 116 points, and broke the Big Ten single game three-point record with 21 triples.
Iowa is led by first season head coach Ben McCollum, who took Drake to the NCAA Tournament last season. Bennett Stirtz, who joined McCollum from Drake, leads the Hawkeye offense with 20.5 points per game, adding 4.6 assists and 2.5 rebounds.
BIG TEN BEASTS
The Badgers seek their 11th Big Ten win on Sunday, for what would clinch a winning conference record. UW has had a winning Big Ten record in 22 of the last 25 seasons (Dating back to 2000-01), the most of any school. Michigan State and Purdue sit close behind at 20, and 18 winning seasons, respectively, but the Badgers have set the standard of consistency since the turn of the century. Since 2001-02 when Bo Ryan and Greg Gard arrived in Madison, UW is tied with MSU for the most Big Ten wins and win percentage.
THE MICROWAVE
Following his 20-point game at Ohio State, Braeden Carrington has proven to be the Badgers’ offensive sparkplug off the bench. He hit five three-pointers in the setback, now hitting three-plus triples in five contests this year. The sharpshooter has eclipsed 10 points in six games, nailing four-plus threes in four of those contests. He’s averaging 12.1 points and 3.3 made threes per game across seven true road contests, including a career-high 21 points - off of seven threes - at Minnesota on Jan. 13.
WEST COAST CALLING
Sunday marks the penultimate home game of the season before UW packs up for a west coast trip at Oregon and Washington. Wisconsin split their west coast stint against USC and UCLA, 1-1, last season. The Badgers beat Washington during 2024-25, 88-62, in their first-ever Big Ten meeting, and have not played in Seattle since a 54-53 loss on Dec. 28, 1955. UW returns home for senior night on March 4 vs Maryland, before ending the regular season at No. 7 Purdue on March 7.
