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With several opponents already announced, Wisconsin finally confirmed its conference basketball schedule for the upcoming season on Friday. Chief among the matchups is Duke, Cal, Marquette and UAB at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.
After the annual Red/White scrimmage on Oct. 26 and a scrimmage vs. UW-Parkside on Nov. 5, the season officially gets underway when Northern Kentucky comes to Madison on Nov. 14. Five days later, the always-fun intrastate matchup vs. UW-Green Bay follows at the Kohl Center.
The Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in The Bahamas is the first major headliner, and the Badgers begin there vs. UAB on Nov. 26. Should they win, they'll face the winner of Florida vs. Georgetown the following day. The championship game will then be played Nov. 28.
Later that week, Duke returns to Madison for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Dec. 3. The Badgers have faced the Blue Devils twice, most recently in 2009. UW fans will remember that game for Trevon Hughes' career-high 26 points (19 of which came in the second half) and the subsequent court-rushing.
Next are two big in-state rivalries, both on the road. Wisconsin travels to Marquette on Dec. 6 to after defeating the Golden Eagles 70-64 last season. Four days later comes the trip to Milwaukee, whom Wisconsin beat 78-52 last December.
The final major conference contest comes Dec. 22, when Wisconsin travels to face Cal. The Badgers are 3-5 all-time vs. the Golden Bears; their last matchup came in December 2012, an 81-56 Wisconsin win.
Overall, that's a pretty fascinating slate. We've heard about the trouble Wisconsin's had in getting premier opponents to travel to Madison for conference games. But those road games and the Battle 4 Atlantis certainly make up for it. Additionally, here's one final piece of evidence for support:
Last year's Sagarin Ratings of noncon home games: Duke (13), GB (73), Boise (74), Buffalo (97), Chattanooga (277), N. KY (294), Nic St (303)
— Jesse Temple (@jessetemple) August 8, 2014
| WISCONSIN'S 2014-15 NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE | ||
|---|---|---|
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION |
| OCT. 26 | RED/WHITE SCRIMMAGE | KOHL CENTER |
| NOV. 5 | UW-PARKSIDE (Exhib.) | KOHL CENTER |
| NOV. 14 | NORTHERN KENTUCKY | KOHL CENTER |
| NOV. 16 | UT-CHATTANOOGA | KOHL CENTER |
| NOV. 19 | GREEN BAY | KOHL CENTER |
| NOV. 22 | BOISE STATE | KOHL CENTER |
| Nov. 26 | vs. UAB | Battle 4 Atlantis |
| Nov. 27 | vs. Florida/Georgetown | Battle 4 Atlantis |
| Nov. 28 | vs. UNC/UCLA/OK/Butler | Battle 4 Atlantis |
| DEC. 3 | DUKE | KOHL CENTER |
| Dec. 6 | at Marquette | Milwaukee, Wis. |
| Dec. 10 | at Milwaukee | Milwaukee, Wis. |
| DEC. 13 | NICHOLLS STATE | KOHL CENTER |
| Dec. 22 | at Cal | Berkeley, Calif. |
| DEC. 28 | BUFFALO | KOHL CENTER |