Wisconsin shocks Michigan as Badgers' road win gives No. 2 Wolverines their first loss of season

Wisconsin pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the college basketball season with a 91-88 road win over No. 2 Michigan on Saturday in Ann Arbor. The Badgers entered this game as 19-point underdogs against the Wolverines, but  handed Dusty May's squad its first loss of the 2025-26 campaign.

The Badgers (11-5, 3-2 Big Ten) trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half. Wisconsin trailed 38-37 at halftime but opened the second half red hot from the floor. The Badgers made their first nine shots, including seven consecutive 3-pointers, before their first miss. The Badgers' 15 3-pointers tied a season-high.

John Blackwell had 26 points to lead the Badgers  to their first win vs. at ranked No. 1 or No. 2 on the road for first time since 2016.

Michigan (14-1, 4-1) entered the weekend as one of six unbeaten teams in Division I basketball. Nebraska, the other undefeated team from the Big Ten, staged a comeback win over Indiana earlier in the day to improve to 16-0. Nebraska and Purdue are the only teams from the Big Ten without a loss in conference play.

Wisconsin was previously 0-3 against ranked teams this season, with the average margin of defeat being 24.7 points. Entering the week, AP top-five teams were 54-0 against unranked teams this season.

Michigan was also 41-0 all-time at home against unranked opponents when ranked in the top two of the AP poll. The Wolverines had the sixth-longest active win streak (14) entering the weekend. In Michigan's last outing, the Wolverines survived an upset scare against Penn State and escaped with a 74-72 win.

Wisconsin adds a signature win

Entering the weekend, Wisconsin was 0-3 against ranked opponents this season. The Badgers had losses on their resume to BYU, Nebraska, and Purdue. All three of those teams are ranked inside the top-10 of the latest AP poll. Wisconsin had lost five consecutive matchups against ranked teams, with its last win coming against Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament.

Additionally, Wisconsin was just 1-4 entering the weekend when playing away from home, while posting a 9-1 home record.

The (early) NCAA Tournament implications were also on display. Per CBS Sports' Bracketology, Wisconsin went from outside the field to a No. 8 seed with its upset win over Michigan. With the loss, the Wolverines dropped from the No. 1 overall seed to a No. 2 seed.

What went wrong for Michigan?

Michigan was playing with fire after nearly being upset by Penn State earlier this week. The Nittany Lions had a chance to win the game with no time remaining, but the (what would've been) the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer was missed. Eleven of Michigan's 14 wins this season came by double-digits. Before this week, Michigan's last win by single digits came against TCU back in November, when the Wolverines escaped with a 67-63 victory.

After that game, Michigan went on a tear. The Wolverines won their next six games by at least 20 points, which included wins over San Diego State, Auburn and Gonzaga. Michigan also defeated No. 24 USC 96-66 at home before nearly losing to Penn State on the road.

The difference in this loss was shooting. Wisconsin finished 15 of 33 (45.5%) from the 3-point line. The number of makes (15) tied a season-high, while the shooting percentage was the best the Badgers have shot all season. Michigan finished just 8 of 25 (32%) from the 3-point line. 

Wisconsin started the second half by making its first seven 3-pointers. That allowed the Badgers to play with a lead throughout the second half. For context, Michigan had trailed at home for just under six minutes the entire season. Wisconsin led for 12:22 of game time, most of which occurred in the second half.

Poll implications after another undefeated goes down

And then there were five.

Michigan entered the weekend as one of six undefeated teams in college basketball. With the Wolverines' loss to Wisconsin, that number has been reduced to five: Vanderbilt, Miami (Ohio), Nebraska, Iowa State and Arizona.

The AP Top 25 poll released earlier this week nearly featured a unique distinction that hadn't been seen since 1981. That's because the one-point difference between Arizona and Michigan kept the poll from becoming the second-ever tie for the No. 1 spot. The last and only time that happened was when Oregon State and Virginia shared the top spot 55 years ago. 

Arizona has been ranked No. 1 during the last four polls and received 32 first-place votes this past week, while Michigan earned 29. 

The poll on Monday should look different. If Arizona takes care of business against TCU later in the day, the Wildcats should receive a majority of the first-place votes. Iowa State could also get some extra love next week after receiving zero first-place votes earlier this week.