The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team will go in to the 2014-15 season as one of the most talked about teams in the country. It will also be a team that will not shy away from a challenge either, at least that’s what the non-conference schedule tells us.
“Every year it’s our goal to put together a difficult non-conference schedule that will get us ready for Big Ten play,” head coach Bo Ryan said in a statement released by the school. “Last season we played five teams in the non-con that ended up winning their conference. I think this year’s slate will be another challenging one.”
On Friday afternoon the Badgers released the full non-conference slate of games and of course the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament takes center stage. However, there are other challenges that UW will face throughout the non-conference season.
Of course, the annual Red/White scrimmage will start things off for the Badgers. Wisconsin will then take on UW-Parkside, a team at the top of the toughest Division II conference in the country (GLVC), in the lone exhibition game.
As for the real games, Wisconsin will open its regular season against a team Parkside should be familiar with — Northern Kentucky. The former D2 and GLVC power has moved up to the Division I level and is in the second year of transition from D2.
That will be the first of four straight games at home for the Badgers, who will also take on UT-Chattanooga, Green Bay and Boise State before heading off to the Battle 4 Atlantis.
After that tournament appearance it will be the biggest matchup of the non-conference season, as Duke travels to the Kohl Center in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Following that it will be more in-state games and road trips for the Badgers. UW will travel to Milwaukee twice in a week’s time, taking on Marquette on the traditional first Saturday in December. The Badgers will then turn around and take on the Milwaukee Panthers the following Wednesday.
UW will also face a good test when they head out west to take on Cal on Monday Dec. 22.
The full schedule won’t be known until later in the month, as the Big Ten hasn’t released the full schedule yet. However, in conference play, Wisconsin will host Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Penn State and Purdue. Road trips include Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers.
Here is the full Badgers non-conference schedule:
Day Date Opponent
SUN. OCT. 26 RED/WHITE SCRIMMAGE
WED. NOV. 5 UW-PARKSIDE (Exhibition)
FRI. NOV. 14 NORTHERN KENTUCKY
SUN. NOV. 16 UT-CHATTANOOGA
WED. NOV. 19 GREEN BAY
SAT. NOV. 22 BOISE STATE
Battle 4 Atlantis – Paradise Island, The Bahamas (Butler, Florida, Georgetown, North Carolina, Oklahoma, UAB or UCLA)
Wed. Nov. 26 vs. UAB
Thu. Nov. 27 vs. Florida/Georgetown
Fri. Nov. 28 vs. TBA
WED. DEC. 3 DUKE (BIG TEN/ACC Challenge)
Sat. Dec. 6 at Marquette
Wed. Dec. 10 at Milwaukee
SAT. DEC. 13 NICHOLLS STATE
Mon. Dec. 22 at Cal
SUN. DEC. 28 BUFFALO
Big Ten Tournament – Chicago, Ill. (United Center)
Wed-Sun. March 11-15 at Big Ten Tournament
NCAA Tournament
Tue-Wed. March 17-18 Round 1
Thu-Sun. March 19-22 Rounds 2-3
Thu-Sun. March 26-29 Sweet 16/Elite 8
Sat.-Mon. April 4-6 Final Four/Championship (Indianapolis, Ind.)
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