Wisconsin has endured its ups and downs during the 2025-2026 college basketball season, but few results will hurt more than its controversial loss to Indiana. Head coach Greg Gard still cannot believe the final sequence that led to the Hoosiers' 78-77 victory in Assembly Hall.
Gard called the end of the Badgers' seventh loss of the season something he has “never seen before” in his 37-year coaching career. The 55-year-old said he wants “clarification” about the calls that allowed Indiana to complete a miraculous comeback.
“I've never seen anything like that,” Gard said, via On3 Sports reporter Evan Flood. “I mean, they're trying to foul, and they actually fouled us three times coming up the floor, and they didn't call it. Offensively, we were driving away from the basket, and I don't know. I don't understand that call. I'll get more clarification; I've never seen that type of call be made before. I guess there's a first for everything.”
"It's a hard game to ref, but that wasn't a hard call."
Greg Gard reacting to the officiating, mostly the offensive foul by Nick Boyd, in the final moments of the #Badgers 78-77 overtime loss at Indiana. pic.twitter.com/JpARbqbXvw
— Evan Flood (@Evan_Flood) February 7, 2026
The plays in question came at the end of overtime, when Wisconsin guard Nick Boyd was called for an offensive foul while evading Indiana defenders who were trying to foul him. The Badgers were dealt another questionable call on the ensuing possession when officials called a foul on John Blackwell, who was defending Hoosiers star guard Lamar Wilkerson.
Gard had a bigger issue with the call on Boyd, which gave Indiana possession with 15 seconds remaining instead of sending Wisconsin to the line. The Badgers had a one-point lead at that point with the shot clock turned off.
Wisconsin falls to 16-7 with tough loss to Indiana
Wisconsin entered the game having won seven of its last eight games, including an upset of No. 2 Michigan in Ann Arbor. They were an impressive 3-1 on the road in Big Ten games entering Saturday, but struggled to shoot in the loss to Indiana.
The Badgers hit just 38 percent of their shots in the loss, while allowing the Hoosiers to connect on 48 percent of their attempts. Junior forward Nolan Winter was the only player to have his game going for Wisconsin, going 9-for-13 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from deep, for a team-high 26 points.
Wilkerson paced Indiana with 25 points, though on just 8-for-20 from the field. Sam Alexis added a season-high 19 points, with Tucker DeVries pouring in 16 points during his team-high 45 minutes.
Wisconsin's schedule only gets more difficult in the next week, with the Badgers facing No. 5 Illinois on the road on Tuesday before returning home to host No. 10 Michigan State. Their 8-4 conference record is seventh in the Big Ten, still three spots above Indiana.
