First Opponent, Final Team in Field Revealed for Badgers' 2026 Bahamas Trip

The 2026 Baha Mar Championship — Wisconsin's first return to a tropical tournament since the 2022-23 season — is finalized.

When the tournament was first announced, Wisconsin was one of the initial three participants along with Seton Hall and NC State. Now, months later, the tournament has finally found a fourth participant: Murray State.

Given how difficult it now is to draw premier college basketball programs to once classic, revered in-season tournaments (just look at the 2026 Maui Invitational field, featuring not a single blue blood program), the fourth and final team in the Baha Mar Championship was trending towards being a mid-major for a long time.

Murray State is an intriguing mid-major. The program that produced Ja Morant and Cameron Payne appears to be on the upswing after a disappointing stretch.

After the return of head coach Steve Prohm didn't work out so well the second time, the Racers turned to Ryan Miller, who led them to a 20-13 season in 2025-26. He's got this team on the upswing and while they'll still be underdogs against the rest of the field, they also shouldn't be a complete cakewalk.

More details released

Seton Hall Pirates head coach Shaheen Holloway. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

We also know Wisconsin's first opponent, as the initial matchups have been set.

The Badgers will face Seton Hall at 7:30 p.m CT on Thursday, Nov. 19. That's the second game of the first evening, both of which will be broadcasted on CBS Sports. Depending on the outcome, they'll face either the winner or loser of Seton Hall versus Murray State the following day.

This is a little prelude to feast week, which begins in earnest the following week.

VIP packages and general admission tickets go on sale Monday, Aug. 24.

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