After much anticipation, the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team unveiled its Big Ten schedule Sept 19.
The Badgers, fresh off a 20-15 campaign a season ago, will play 13 teams that punched a ticket to the Big Dance, including a pair of contests against last year’s Big Ten regular season champion, the Purdue Boilermakers.
UW will open the season with an exhibition match against UW-Stevens Point Nov. 1, before officially tipping off regular season competition with Arkansas State University Nov. 6.
Perhaps the most coveted contests, however, come against the University of Tennessee, University of Arizona and Michigan State University.
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The University of Tennessee, a season removed from a Sweet Sixteen appearance in the infamous Madison Square Garden, last played the cardinal and white in 2019. Led by the defensive-minded Rick Barnes, the Tennesse Volunteers will offer Wisconsin a taste at what some of the more physically imposing conference opponents will utilize in half court sets.
Despite being ousted by the 15-seed Princeton Tigers in the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament in March, the University of Arizona will feature an entirely new cast of characters this winter.
The Wildcats secured former North Carolina Tarheel Caleb Love in the transfer portal alongside former Alabama guard Jaden Bradley. Oumar Ball, Arizona’s 7-foot junior, will again anchor the interior for Tommy Llyod’s group.
In East Lansing, Michigan State will return both Tyson Walker, Malik Hall, A.J. Hoggard and Jaden Akins for Tom Izzo’s 29th season manning the sidelines. Not to mention, the Spartans added Xavier Booker, the 16th-ranked player in ESPN’s 2023 top-100 list, to man the middle.
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For Wisconsin, six new players will showcase their skill sets for Badger faithful this season, including freshman Gus Yalden, another top-100 recruit in the country.
AJ Storr, a 2022-2023 All-Big East Freshman selection, arrives in Madison after suiting up for St. John’s University last winter. The sophomore amassed a respectable 40.4% clip from deep, something UW will look to feature alongside Connor Essegian.
With the season slated to commence in just over a month, the Badgers will aim to recapture a piece of Big Ten glory against some of the nation’s most prolific programs.
