Wisconsin’s basketball schedule for the 2018-19 season is set.
The calendar was released Tuesday afternoon by the Big Ten, and it should test a young Badgers team that missed the NCAA tournament last season.
Like last season, the Badgers will face some stingy non-conference opposition early in the season.
Wisconsin will travel to Xavier and Marquette before Christmas, and will face Stanford and either Florida or Oklahoma in the Battle 4 Atlantis, which runs from November 21-23.
The Badgers will also be tested by the Big Ten’s new 20-game schedule, a wrinkle that will make its debut this season (teams previously played 18 games against conference foes).
Coach Greg Gard’s squad will begin its Big Ten slate November 30 at Iowa, before hosting Purdue and Maryland in Friday-night games. Michigan and Northwestern will also visit for Saturday games in consecutive weeks in January (19 and 26 respectively).
But Wisconsin’s schedule will stiffen up considerably in February.
Between the 6 and 26 of the month, Wisconsin will play four of its six games on the road, including dates at Michigan and Indiana.
They will end their regular season conference slate with a tricky trip to Columbus to face Ohio State on March 9.
The Big Ten tournament begins March 13.
