Oregon Upsets No. 11 Wisconsin 85-71 at Matthew Knight Arena

At Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, the Oregon Ducks upset No. 11 Wisconsin 85-71, delivering a statement home victory that energized a team emerging from a midseason collapse. Nate Bittle paced the Ducks with 20 points and a forceful interior presence that Wisconsin repeatedly avoided, and the crowd erupted on late 3-pointers that sealed the margin.

On Feb. 25, 2026 Oregon improved to 11-17 overall and 4-13 in conference play; Wisconsin dropped to 19-9 and 11-6, according to contemporary game accounts. The win was Oregon’s second straight and the program’s third victory in four games after a stretch that included a 10-game losing skid earlier in the winter.

Register-Guard box figures show the statistical foundation for the upset: Oregon shot 51.9 percent from the field while Wisconsin scored at only 33.3 percent. The Ducks made 9-of-19 from long range while the Badgers attempted a school-record 45 three-pointers, making 14. Oregon also posted 19 assists on 28 baskets and committed just eight turnovers, a combination that outweighed Wisconsin’s 39-35 advantage on the boards.

Individual production was balanced. Bittle’s 20 points anchored four Ducks in double figures; Register-Guard lists Takai Simpkins and Dezdrick Lindsey among those contributors, each with six rebounds alongside Bittle. Wisconsin’s John Blackwell led the Badgers with 22 points, while team scoring leader Nick Boyd was limited to 11, nine below his average, per the game recap.

The game unfolded as a late second-half surge. Wisconsin led 33-30 at halftime, and the teams were tied 47-47 with 11:34 remaining. Oregon then turned defense into offense, recording multiple second-half steals and blocks and building momentum with a series of runs. A Wei Lin jumper off a steal pushed Oregon to 58-49 and forced a Wisconsin timeout, and Takai Simpkins hit a 3-pointer that kicked off an 18-10 closing run. Lin’s foul-line jumper set up an emphatic dunk by Stewart and Simpkins’ free throws put Oregon up by 11 with about six minutes to play; Dezdrick Lindsey’s deep 3 and a follow-up triple from Kwame Evans Jr. effectively ended the contest, Daily Emerald and 247Sports reported.

Dana Altman praised his team’s effort after the game, saying, “They’re a good basketball team. They beat Michigan on the road. They’re a good basketball team, they’re gonna play a long time in the NCAA Tournament. It was just a much better effort on our part tonight.” Altman also added, “Our activity defensively was the difference in the game,” underscoring Oregon’s second-half identity.

The win provides immediate breathing room for a Ducks roster that has struggled for consistency; 247Sports noted Oregon still faces long odds for an NCAA berth absent a Big Ten Tournament run in two weeks. Fred Hall of the Daily Emerald captured Nate Bittle rising for a two-handed dunk, a visual that underlined Oregon’s interior advantage in the 85-71 victory.