The twists and turns in the Big Ten continued on Saturday. After Michigan State broke the conference title race wide open by winning at Michigan on Friday night, Wisconsin had a chance to step into the thick of contention.
Oregon had other ideas.
The Ducks trailed by as many as 17 in the first half and were down 62-47 with 7:30 left in the game. Dana Altman’s team tightened the screws defensively, allowing just four more points for the remainder of regulation as part of a monumental comeback. The Ducks chipped away, slowly closing the gap until cutting the margin to 66-63 with 56 seconds remaining.
Stunningly, the sure-handed Badgers then coughed it up twice in the final 32 seconds, giving Oregon multiple chances to cut further into the margin. Nate Bittle missed a hook shot on the first opportunity, but the Ducks did not waste a second chance.
Oregon point guard Jackson Shelstad, widely renowned for having attended the same high school as fellow Oregon Duck (and wearer of jersey No. 3) Payton Pritchard, delivered some early Saturday afternoon onions — echoing the clutch play of his point guard predecessor.
JACKSON SHELSTAD STEP BACK 3 TO GO TO OVERTIME! 🔥 @OregonMBB x @JacksonShelstad pic.twitter.com/uTTUyzLkA4
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) February 22, 2025
Wisconsin’s Max Klesmit came up short on a potential game-winning jumper at the other end, and Oregon ultimately outfought the Badgers in a grinder of an overtime period.
Of note: The “foul up three” debate is extremely divisive, and Shelstad’s dagger of a triple gave some support to the proponents of turning the game into a free throw contest. But it came with 12 seconds still on the clock, well outside the typical timeframe for sending the trailing squad to the stripe.
This victory gave Oregon its ninth Quad 1 win of the season, trailing only Auburn’s absurd 14. Yes, Oregon has more Q1 wins than No. 1 seed contenders Alabama, Tennessee, Houston, Duke and Florida.
However, the Ducks did most of their best work in the nonconference portion of the slate, and their quality metrics (KenPom, Bart Torvik, BPI) have faded in Big Ten play. Thus, flashing this kind of upside in late February is extremely promising. Previously slotted in as a No. 8 seed in Joe Rexrode’s latest bracket projection, this should vault the Ducks up a seed line or two. Considering that lets them dodge a No. 1 seed in the second round, that’s a massive result.
The Badgers, meanwhile, had been on fire lately and had ascended to a bona fide Final Four contender in the minds of many. The NCAA Tournament selection committee revealed them as a No. 3 seed in their sneak peek at the bracket on CBS last Saturday. Their lethal guard group led by John Tonje, John Blackwell and Klesmit looked ready to do some damage in March. Plus, Wisconsin had drawn within one game in the loss column of the Big Ten leaders.
A revamped offense, in particular, had been the impetus behind the Badgers’ recent surge. Unfortunately, it was the offense that failed them on Saturday afternoon; they mustered just 10 points in the final 12:30 of the game.
This late collapse likely takes the Badgers out of the running for a conference title and a No. 2 seed. They can still make up some Big Ten ground at Michigan State next Sunday, but at 11-5, they will now need a lot of help to catch the Spartans (13-3) and Wolverines (12-3).
(Photo of Nate Bittle: John Fisher / Getty Images)
