Panthers vs. Badgers

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Photo via UW Badgers - uwbadgers.com

Badgers vs Panthers - Dec. 30, 2025

University of Wisconsin Badgers play UW-Milwaukee's Panthers (Dec. 30, 2025)

Sixteen straight: Against Fort Wayne on December 29, Milwaukee scored 16 consecutive points early in the first half while building an insurmountable 28-point halftime lead.

Less than 24 hours later, the Panthers were on the receiving end of a 16-0 first-half spurt by the Wisconsin Badgers. UWM, which went scoreless for nearly nine minutes, responded after halftime, cutting a 20-point Wisconsin advantage to just nine points.

But the bigger, faster, and fresher Badgers pulled away for a comprehensive 80-60 victory.

Scheduling Challenges

Since taking over at Milwaukee in 2022, Bart Lundy has expressed his eagerness to play Badger State foes Wisconsin and Marquette. With expanded conference slates and the rise of high-revenue neutral site games, scheduling one-off games has become increasingly challenging.

Of the four months or so that comprise the regular season for NCAA Division I basketball, December 30 was the only available date for this I-94 matchup.

“We've been trying to get Wisconsin or Marquette on the schedule,” Lundy stated.” Coach Gard agreed to play the game, and this was the date they had.”

Wisconsin, off since December 22 for Christmas, had open days before a Saturday contest against Purdue. For Milwaukee, the scheduling was more complicated. The Panthers had Horizon League games on Monday and Thursday, leading to an unconventional back-to-back with the added Tuesday matchup against UW.

After winning at home on Monday night against Fort Wayne, Milwaukee bused to Madison. The team arrived in the capital city after midnight. UWM had an early shootaround on Tuesday morning, then played the Badgers Tuesday night. From there, the Panthers drive to Chicago, staying overnight before a flight from O'Hare International Airport to Dayton for a 1 p.m. Thursday tipoff against Wright State.

Down five injured players and in the midst of three games in four days, Milwaukee head coach Bart Lundy was nonetheless thankful for the opportunity to face off against their in-state rival for the first time since 2019. “To me, it was important to be able to play in-state,” Lundy said. “This is great for all the fans. We have 200,000 graduates, and a lot are Badger fans too. No matter the result, this game means a lot to them.

Wisconsin coach Greg Gard expressed a similar view. “I've always said it's good when teams and programs within the state can play each other.”

Overwhelming Size

From the opening tip, the Badgers played like the fresher team. Their last game was eight days prior, an easy 88-61 win over Central Michigan.

The hosts asserted themselves early with a 16-0 run as a fatigued UWM squad missed a few open looks, but otherwise struggled with the size of the Wisconsin defense. The Badgers boast four regulars who are 6-10 or taller, including a pair of seven-footers.

UWM was seven of 20 on layup attempts and turned the ball over 15 times. The visitors also did not enjoy their usual rebounding advantage. Against Fort Wayne, the Panthers turned 19 offensive rebounds into 24 second-chance points. They finished +33 on the boards. Wisconsin’s size limited Milwaukee to 13 offensive rebounds on 42 missed shots and 10 second-chance points.

Preventing offensive rebounds was a focus for Gard, who recognized the importance of the effort plays that Lundy’s squad makes: “You watch how hard they play,” Gard said, “and that's one thing I reminded our guys of: their ability to offensive rebound the ball. They had 19 last night. That's a play-hard stat. That's one thing that we emphasize with our club, that we have to play hard.”

Lundy noted how Wisconsin’s size limited much of what his squad likes to do down low. “Wisconsin does an unbelievable job of walling you up. Even when they give [offensive rebounds] up, they don't foul you, and they make you score tough baskets. They have really good size inside.”

Point Guard Showdown

The prevailing first-half theme was Wisconsin’s interior size. The second 20 minutes were all about point guard play.

The floor general matchup pitted Wisconsin’s Nick Boyd—a sixth-year player and former Final Four starter—against Milwaukee’s Josh Dixon, a true freshman and the reigning Lou Henson Award National Mid-Major Player of the Week.

Boyd finished with 16 points on an economical 5-7 shooting. He also attempted eight foul shots. Dixon was just as productive, leading all players with 17 points, though his 6-15 shooting highlighted a marked difference in efficiency between the two guards.

Dixon endured a slow start but spearheaded UWM’s post-halftime comeback effort. The youngster hit three straight jumpers as part of a 9-0 run that cut Wisconsin’s advantage to just nine points, 39-30.

The veteran Boyd then asserted his control over the contest. The San Diego State transfer knocked down a jumper and three free throws as the hosts extended their lead back to 18 points.

With the short turnaround, much of Lundy’s focus was on slowing down the Wisconsin floor general. “The short prep we had was a lot based on him,” Lundy said, “being able to build a wall in front of him. You can't stop him with one.” A Dixon three ended the Badger run before Boyd converted his next three shots, allowing Wisconsin to coast the rest of the way.

The Milwaukee freshman has taken advantage of recent backcourt injuries to Seth Hubbard and Stevie Elam, rising from the bench to become the Panthers’ leading scorer in recent weeks.

Lundy noted Dixon’s early nerves and commended his ability to come back and post a strong second half. “I could tell it was the first time he played on the stage,” Lundy said regarding an early three-pointer that Dixon missed badly. “We played in Indiana, Texas Tech, and he didn't play a whole lot. But you [saw] the Josh Dixon that we know is in there. It's a good step for him experience-wise, playing against Boyd and those guys. Josh is fearless.

“By March, he's going to be a terror.”