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Ohio State Buckeyes vs Wisconsin Badgers in NCAA mens basketball
Ohio State Buckeyes center Christoph Tilly (13) shoots the ball against the Wisconsin Badgers in the first half of the NCAA game at Value City Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
Three quick takeaways from Ohio State’s 86-69 win against No. 24 Wisconsin at the Jerome Schottenstein Center:
Ohio State Buckeyes forward Amare Bynum (1) blocks the shot of Wisconsin Badgers guard Braeden Carrington (0) in the first half of the NCAA game at Value City Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
Win over Wisconsin shows the ceiling of this Ohio State team
Call it however you want it, but Ohio State needed this win in a bad way. The Buckeyes had most recently taken a four-point loss to No. 15 Virginia on Feb. 14, further putting their NCAA Tournament hopes in doubt while depriving them of a shot at a win against a bona fide March Madness team.
Ohio State took a double-digit lead with 3:06 left in the first half and never let it get into single digits the rest of the way. It was decisive, and it came against a team that handed the Buckeyes their worst defensive performance of the season on Jan. 31.
It’s not a Quad 1 win, something the Buckeyes still need to really give their resume a jolt, but it’s their first win against a ranked opponent this season. Ohio State was 0-6 against ranked teams this year.
It also moves the Buckeyes to 9-0 after a loss. Ohio State has not dropped consecutive games all season.
Ohio State Buckeyes forward Devin Royal (21) shoots the ball against Wisconsin Badgers guard John Blackwell (25) in the first half of the NCAA game at Value City Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
Ohio State needed this Devin Royal outing
The junior forward has been Ohio State’s third-leading scorer this season, but he’s had three single-digit scoring efforts in his past seven games. He still played well in one of them, dishing out four assists in a win at Maryland on Feb. 5, but with John Mobley Jr. sidelined with a hand injury his production is needed more than ever.
It didn’t take him long to get going against the Badgers. After scoring only 4 points in the loss to Virginia in Nashville, Tennessee, Royal had 14 points and hit his first six shots while the Buckeyes built a 24-12 lead not even eight minutes into the game.
He hadn’t hit a 3-pointer since Penn State on Jan. 26, his only make in Ohio State’s previous seven games while going 1 for 20 (5.0%). Royal’s confidence seemed renewed in warmups, and it quickly translated to the game.
Ohio State Buckeyes guard Taison Chatman (3) shoots the ball against Wisconsin Badgers in the first half of the NCAA game at Value City Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
This was a significant defensive turnaround for Ohio State
The first meeting between these teams was the worst defensive performance of the year for the Buckeyes. Wisconsin put up 130.9 points per 100 possessions in the 92-82 win in Madison, the second-worst mark of the Jake Diebler era.
The Buckeyes limited the Badgers to 100.3 points per 100 possessions, their second-best outing against a Big Ten team this year and Wisconsin’s third-worst offensive performance in conference play. Wisconsin went just 7 for 26 (26.9%) from 3 and turned it over 12 times.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State vs. Wisconsin basketball: 3 quick takeaways from Buckeyes’ win