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Wisconsin Basketball: Badgers announce Thanksgiving, Black Friday tournament matchups

Lorin Cox|
Nov 14, 2023; Providence, Rhode Island, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard Chucky Hepburn (23) gets fouled by Providence Friars forward Josh Oduro (13) during the second half at Amica Mutual Pavilion.
Nov 14, 2023; Providence, Rhode Island, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard Chucky Hepburn (23) gets fouled by Providence Friars forward Josh Oduro (13) during the second half at Amica Mutual Pavilion. | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

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Wisconsin Badgers

While Wisconsin Badgers fans are enjoying their Thanksgiving turkey and holiday shopping, Greg Gard and his squad will be taking the court for the 2025 Rady Children's Invitational in San Diego.

The program announced the matchups Thursday for the four-team tournament that will take place across Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.

The Badgers will play the Providence Friars in the first round on Thanksgiving. The winner of that game will face the winner of TCU vs Florida on the other side of the bracket on Black Friday.

The losers of each first-round game will also play in a third-place game.

Wisconsin has won its last two Thanksgiving tournaments, beating UCF and Pittsburgh in last year's Greenbrier Tip-Off. The year before, UW took down Virginia and SMU in the Fort Myers Tip-Off.

The Badgers have only played the Friars twice in men's basketball, losing both matchups in 2021 and 2023.

This year's matchup will give John Blackwell an opportunity at revenge. He scored 11 points with five rebounds off the bench as a freshman the last time these two teams played.

The Rady Children's Invitational is sandwiched in between two of Wisconsin's most important non-conference games this season. The week before, the Badgers have an NCAA Tournament rematch against BYU, and the week after they renew the I-94 rivalry with Marquette.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

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