Takeaways from Wisconsin Basketball's Official Non-Conference Schedule

As we careen towards the start of Wisconsin football, which is just over a month away, Wisconsin basketball creeps ever closer as well.

The Badgers just released their official non-conference schedule for the 2026-27 campaign after months of reports of individual matchups slowly trickling out.

Circle the dates. Our non-con schedule is here. 🗓️

📎 https://t.co/y0r7ZiViup pic.twitter.com/wKQNCUQtvD
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) August 3, 2026

We knew about all the crucial matchups in the Badgers' out-of-conference slate, such as the Feast Week trip to The Bahamas and the showdown with Villanova in Philadelphia. But now, we have a more holistic view of the start of Wisconsin basketball's 2026-27 campaign.

Below, Badgers On SI offers quick takeaways from Wisconsin's officially finalized non-conference schedule:

New exhibition matches announced

We already knew the Badgers would take on the Phoenix in a preseason exhibition match in Green Bay, but the remainder of Wisconsin's exhibition games are now finalized. The Badgers will take on UW-Parkside in Madison on Oct. 10, and host Oklahoma State on Oct. 27 at the Kohl Center.

The Cowboys will obviously be an excellent test for the Badgers, and a good way to get what's essentially a warm-up game in before we start keeping track of records. The exhibition season has expanded in recent years college basketball, and Wisconsin now has three exhibition games as opposed to the two it played last season.

Light opening stretch

Just like last season, Wisconsin has a nice four-game ramp-up stretch before it plays a high-major opponent. The Badgers open the season against Denver, Delaware, Fairfield and Coastal Carolina, all at the Kohl Center. Last fall, Wisconsin had a similarly light opening four-game slate before it traveled to Salt Lake City and got smoked by BYU. The first high-major opponent the Badgers face in 2026-27 will be either Seton Hall or NC State at the Baha Mar Invitational.

Conversely, Wisconsin has a taxing three-game stretch in December when it must face Marquette, Villanova and Auburn consecutively, all either on the road or at a neutral site location.

Wisconsin can't find an additional high-major opponent

In a May interview on the Brian Butch podcast, Wisconsin basketball general manager Marc VandeWettering mentioned that the Badgers were looking to add an additional high-major game to a slate that already included Auburn, Villanova, Marquette and two guaranteed high-major clashes in The Bahamas.

That would get Wisconsin to six high-major games in the out-of-conference slate, which VandeWettering said was his preference; 12 non-conference games, six against high-majors and six against mid-majors.

However, it appears the Badgers didn't manage to find another big program to play before the Big Ten portion of the schedule. That's not the end of the world; there will be no shortage of Quad 1 opportunities in the Big Ten.

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