In recent years, the Wisconsin Badgers have seen some success in the Big Ten Tournament, making runs to the championship game in back-to-back seasons as the No. 5 seed.
In 2024, Wisconsin had an 11-9 conference record, earning them the No. 5 seed and a matchup with No. 12 Maryland in the second round of the tournament. They blew out Maryland by 31, then proceeded to beat No. 4 seed Northwestern by nine to advance to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. There, they took on No. 1 seed Purdue and beat them in an overtime
thriller 76-75 to reach the Championship Game, where they ultimately fell short by six to Illinois.
In 2025, with an expanded tournament, the Badgers faced No. 13 seed Northwestern in the third round, beating them by seven to see No. 4 seed UCLA in the quarterfinals, where Wisconsin cruised to a 16-point victory. That led to a matchup with No. 1 seed Michigan State, where the Badgers pulled off a 77-74 win to reach the championship game for the second-straight year. There, they took on Michigan and fell just short in an ugly one, losing 59-53.
Now, in 2026, the Badgers are back in that same No. 5 seed and face the Washington Huskies to kick off the tournament on Thursday. Should they win, that’d set up a challenge with the No. 4 seed Illinois Fighting Illini on Friday afternoon. This year’s Big Ten seems extremely strong at the top, so it’s certainly going to be a challenge to win the whole thing, which is why the extra byes were coveted.
Still, what are the Badgers chances of winning the tournament?
FanDuel Sportsbook released its Big Ten Tournament odds, and the No. 1 seed Michigan Wolverines are unsurprisingly the favorites, having +100 odds to win the whole thing. Illinois is behind them with +390 odds, while Michigan State is third at +500 odds.
Wisconsin is sixth with +2500 odds behind Purdue (+900) and Nebraska (+1000), which is reflective of where they stand in the AP Top 25 amongst Big Ten teams. Being banged up with Jack Janicki and Nolan Winter out, the Badgers’ depth will be tested as they’re forced to play back-to-backs should they win.
But, given the magic we’ve seen in the Big Ten Tournaments in recent years, it’d be smart not to count them out.
