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The University of Wisconsin football team will entertain Nebraska for the Cornhuskers’ first Big Ten game Oct. 1, and its men’s basketball brethren will follow suit two months later.
The Big Ten announced its 2011-12 men’s basketball schedule Wednesday, and the Badgers will travel to Lincoln to face Nebraska Dec. 27 at 8 p.m. on ESPN2. That game is Wisconsin’s earliest conference opener since the 1966-67 season, when the Badgers traveled to Illinois Dec. 19.
In total, UW has eight games scheduled to air on the ESPN family of networks. That number could rise to 10 if the Feb. 25/26 matchup at Ohio State and the March 4 game against Illinois are aired on ESPN over CBS or the Big Ten Network. The first Big Ten game on CBS will also feature Wisconsin when the Badgers travel to Michigan Jan. 8. All together, the Badgers will have 12 conference games on either ESPN or CBS.
Some other notes from the Big Ten schedule:
- By adding a 12th team to the conference, the Big Ten Tournament will feature 11 games for the first time ever. The tournament will begin Thursday, March 8, and run through Sunday, March 11, at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. ESPN2 will cover the third and fourth games of the tournament, while ESPN will televise the fifth and sixth and CBS will air the semifinals and championship.
- Also a result of the move to a 12-team conference, Wisconsin faces four Big Ten teams only once each. The Badgers travel to Michigan and Purdue in consecutive games Jan. 8 and Jan. 12, while Northwestern and Indiana will come to the Kohl Center Jan. 18 and Jan. 26, respectively.
- Three of the Badgers’ final four games of the season are wildcard selections, meaning the networks can choose which games to air as the date approaches. The Feb. 19 game vs. Penn State is a CBS wildcard, while the Feb. 25/26 game at Ohio State and the March 4 game vs. Illinois are both CBS/ESPN wildcards.
- In total, 64 Big Ten conference games will air on the Big Ten Network, meaning that for the fifth consecutive year, every regular season game will be broadcast nationally.
