Lockdown Defense Gives UO Men Win Over Wisconsin

Wednesday, February 25

Eugene, Ore.

8 p.m.

University of Oregon

11-17,4-13Big Ten

Wisconsin

19-9,11-6Big Ten

Wisconsin

Oregon

Photo by: Rob Moseley/GoDucks.com

02/25/26 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Oregon held the Badgers to 33.3 percent shooting to win Wednesday and post a third victory in the last four games.

By: Rob Moseley

EUGENE, Ore. — When Nate Bittle was choosing where to play in college after growing up in Southern Oregon, he didn't take for granted what it would be like to stay in-state. And with only a few games left in his career with the UO men's basketball team, Bittle sure isn't taking it for granted now.

Bittle's senior season may not have gone how he envisioned, but it's trending upward as March approaches. Bittle and the Ducks won for the third time in four games Wednesday, holding Wisconsin to 33.3 percent shooting in an 85-71 victory at Matthew Knight Arena.

"It feels great," said Bittle, one of just 41 players to score 1,000 career points for the Oregon men's program. "I told a couple of the guys before the game, I got two home games left — we gotta make the most of them. You know, they did. They went out there, played their hearts out."

Bittle had 20 points, six rebounds and five assists to lead the Ducks on Wednesday, a night in which they shot 51.9 percent as a team, their best effort in Big Ten play this season. Takai Simpkins added 17 points, Kwame Evans Jr. had 16 points and Wei Lin added 13.

KJ Evans Buckets

Oregon (11-17, 4-13 Big Ten) allowed the lowest shooting percentage by a conference opponent since Maryland shot 27.7 percent against the Ducks on Jan. 2. The Ducks lost 10 in a row after that, but they've won three of their last four after Wednesday's victory.

"There's a lot of teams that can fold in situations like we've been in this year," Bittle said. "But you know, every day guys come in prepared, practice hard. Last couple games we've played really hard, and you know, it's showing. It's paying off."

Dezdrick Lindsay added six points, six rebounds and five assists Wednesday, and Sean Stewart had eight points with five rebounds. As the final moments wound down in the game, Stewart was leading the celebration on the bench as the veterans Bittle and Evans led the team off the floor in victory.

"A lot of teams fall completely off the rails when things don't go as expected," UO coach Dana Altman said. "And credit to Nathan for fighting his tail off to get back (from midseason injuries), and Sean and (Evans) for just being competitors and staying in there. Those three have practiced hard, they've stayed together. I think those three have done a good job keeping this together."

How It Happened: On a night the Badgers attempted a school-record 45 three-pointers, they made enough early to put the Ducks in a hole. Wisconsin's fourth three-pointer of the game sparked a 6-0 run that gave the Badgers a 19-10 lead seven minutes in.

It was 21-12 moments later when the Ducks mounted a 13-2 run to take the lead, with Lin scoring nine points during that spurt. The Badgers ended up taking a 33-30 lead into halftime, but it might have been worse had Oregon not held Wisconsin to just three made field goals in the final 12:35 of the first half.

"That's what we needed tonight," Bittle said of the defensive effort. "All of our guards were getting through or over the top of screens good. We had active hands. It was just an all-around great team defensive effort."

Early in the second half, Wisconsin made field goals on three straight possessions. All of them were three-pointers, and all of them came after offensive rebounds by the Badgers. Altman saw warning lights flashing.

"Those three threes to start that second half, I thought was going to bury us, I really did," he said. "I thought the momentum was going to switch there."

A fourth three-pointer early in the second half put the Badgers up, 47-42, with 15:09. That was their biggest lead after halftime. And it was short-lived.

A three-point play by Evans sparked a 9-0 run by the Ducks, who took the lead for good. Lin scored twice during a 7-0 run that made it 58-49, and Lindsay made a three-pointer to cap another 7-0 run that put Oregon up 72-59.

Wisconsin got back within single digits briefly a couple of times in the final three minutes. But ultimately the Ducks were able to celebrate winning back-to-back Big Ten games for the first time this season, and give Bittle at least one more great memory doing battle for Oregon in Matthew Knight Arena.

Up Next: The Ducks play at Northwestern on Saturday (11 a.m., Big Ten Network).