Outside of a passing curiosity to see just what Brian Butch might be able to do after taking a redshirt season last year, and if Alando Tucker could still leap over his defender in a single bound, it was hard to get incredibly psyched-up to attend the Wisconsin-UW-Parkside game Wednesday night.

While I did manage to slog down to the Kohl Center, it was nearly as tempting to stay home and rest my sore back while watching West Wing. I mean, how exciting is it to watch a David versus Goliath match-up where Goliath thoroughly destroys David?

Therein lies the problem with the whole exhibition schedule in college basketball. Why can’t we just be treated to the start of the regular season and add those two games into the Big Ten schedule?

Wisconsin somehow was able to pull out a thrilling victory over Parkside, escaping by 39 points, 81-42. Of course, it was only that close because the Badgers got sloppy early in the second half and allowed the Rangers to close the gap at one point in time to … gasp … 18 points. UW-Parkside was almost within striking distance.

Of course, the fact that they only shot 30.4 percent from the field meant that no one in attendance actually thought the Rangers were going to start hitting any of the three-point shots that they routinely missed throughout the game, but I suppose stranger things have happened.

What was clear from the beginning of the game to the bitter end — when even Tanner Bronson was hoisting up and making threes — was that the Badgers were simply faster, stronger, taller and better that the Rangers in nearly every facet of the game. The only place on the scoreboard that UW-Parkside held an advantage was under the category heading: turnovers, where they held a slim 19-15 advantage.

Basically, the Badgers held a glorified practice, invited the public in and asked them to pay full admission to see it. In fact, Wisconsin might have gotten more out of an actual practice where they were playing against other Division-I-quality opponents.

These exhibition games are supposed to be some sort of chance for coaches to try new things and see who can play and who can’t. Unfortunately, as almost any coach will tell you, it is pretty hard to judge a lot of things about a player when they are playing in a blowout game. It’s just a fact of life that basketball players tend to play a much sloppier style of basketball when the outcome was decided shortly after the opening tip.

While Butch, Greg Stiemsma and Kammron Taylor all got a chance to show what they could do, it’s hard to know just what they showed. Sure, it’s pretty clear that Stiemsma can defend guys who are five inches shorter than he is and incredibly slow, but can he defend a Big Ten big man? Taylor proved he can get to the basket against players who are about half as quick as he is, but will incredibly talented players like Dee Brown or Chris Hill give him a little bit more trouble?

The fact is, nothing much was really answered. Undoubtedly, Bo Ryan saw plenty of mistakes to harp on in practice, but outside of that, what did we learn from that game?

As if one walk through the park weren’t enough, Wisconsin gets a second one next Tuesday when UW-Platteville comes to the Kohl Center. Maybe the quality of basketball will be better, but it’s not likely.

It’s not just these D-II and D-III schools that are now being scheduled as exhibition cannon fodder that are the problem either. The EA Sports All-Stars were anything but stars. The international teams should have stayed home, and even the toughest challenge, the Lowgators of the NBDL, weren’t quite of the same standard as your run-of-the-mill college team.

Quite simply, the games never should have taken place. And if you were to try and look up scores in your media guide, it appears they never did.

Instead of playing UW-Parkside, Wisconsin should have been hosting Penn tonight in the season opener for both schools. If the Badgers were ready for an exhibition game, they were just as ready to play their first real opponent.

Then, if Wisconsin were to win by nearly 40 points, it would actually mean something. Of course, they probably would have a hard time scheduling many D-I opponents who are porous enough to be beaten that badly.

Of course, the argument will be made that these exhibition games give coaches a chance to see what their teams are made of without risking a loss. But, unlike football, where every game is of the utmost importance, a loss or two — especially early in the season — are hardly critical. In fact, in Ryan’s first year as a head coach at Wisconsin, the Badgers suffered a whole handful of setbacks early in the year and were still able to advance to the NCAA tournament.

Furthermore, if the season started earlier, then the Big Ten could do something novel, like add enough games so that every team plays every other team twice. No more one game per season against half the conference while playing the other half twice. (This season Wisconsin will see Minnesota, Iowa, Penn State and Northwestern only once. And those are the four teams in the Big Ten that you’d like to see on your schedule more, not less.)

With the NCAA unlikely to change anything in the near future, Wisconsin will just have to go about practicing for the regular season by demolishing non-scholarship athletes. How exciting …