Wisconsin Basketball Big Ten Schedule Unveiled

The 2017-2018 Wisconsin Basketball Big Ten schedule is now public

Wisconsin Basketball now knows its official Big Ten schedule.  The slate looks tougher as the season goes along including a brutal stretch to close Big Ten play.

Michigan State is generally considered the class of the conference.  But the projections beyond that are far less definitive.

The Badgers open Big Ten play hosting The Ohio State and its new coach Chris Holtmann at the Kohl Center.  Two days later Wisconsin heads to State College for to play Penn State.

Wisconsin then plays six straight non-conference games including the annual Marquette derby.  This year, Bucky gets to host the Golden Eagles at the Kohl Center.

Related Story: Snap Reaction to Wisconsin Basketball Big Ten Schedule

The key stretch of this schedule is actually the closing sprint to the finish of conference play.  Wisconsin plays four of its final contests at home.

• February 11th vs Michigan (Kohl Center)
• February 15th vs Purdue (Kohl Center)
• Februrary 19th vs Minnesota (Kohl Center)
• February 22nd @ Northwestern (Evanston)
• Februrary 25th vs Michigan State (Kohl Center)

All five of those teams made the NCAA Tournament last season.  It’s a fair bet that Wisconsin will be that quintet plus Wisconsin will make up the top six of the final Big Ten standings in 2018.

This run in for Wisconsin starts with the defending Big Ten tournament champions (Michigan).  The next date is with the defending regular season Big Ten champions in Purdue.

Both Minnesota and Northwestern appear to be rising programs and boast veteran squads for 2017-2018.  Northwestern finally made the NCAA Tournament, got a win, and thus don’t have to answer any questions about the big dance anymore.

Meanwhile, Michigan State is a consensus national title contender this season.

The closing stretch is a challenge but with comes great opportunity.  A young Wisconsin squad has the chance to notch some impressive resume-building wins.  That’s never a bad thing close to Selection Sunday.  In addition, you want to play your best basketball come March.  So hopefully a softer start to Big Ten play helps an inexperienced team gain confidence and peak heading into postseason play.

Next: Wisconsin Basketball Look at 2017-18 Schedule

Normally you wouldn’t mind seeing the tough games spaced out more.  But I like that Wisconsin will be tested with a string of competitive games to close out the conference season.  This should help prepare Wisconsin in the transition to tournament play.