Wisconsin Basketball: Badgers open up conference play vs. Nebraska

The Wisconsin basketball team starts conference play tonight when they host the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

After a rollercoaster of a non-conference schedule, the Wisconsin basketball team will begin their Big Ten schedule tonight when the 4-3 Nebraska Cornhuskers come to Madison.

Game information

Where: Kohl Center, Madison, WI

When: 6:00 PM CT

Where to watch: FS1

Streaming info: Fox Sports Go

How to listen: Badger Radio Network

Favorite: Wisconsin (-16.0)

Game preview

The Badgers recently moved back into the top 10 of the AP Poll after their dominant victory over the Louisville Cardinals. They sit at 6-1 and are actually number three in the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings. Nebraska, on the other hand, is ranked 119th according to those ratings.

Nebraska has three losses this season to Nevada (2-0), Georgia Tech (2-2), and #14 Creighton (4-1). They have victories over McNeese, North Dakota St., South Dakota, and Doane. Overall, their schedule has been relatively weak, and their only solid opponent was against Creighton, where they lost by 24 points.

This is a Nebraska team that went 7-25 last season overall and 2-18 in the conference, good for last in the Big Ten. They lost their last 17 games in the 2019-2020 season, pretty much the exact opposite of what Wisconsin did last year. After the tough season, there was a lot of turnover on the roster. They added three transfers in Kobe Webster, Teddy Allen, and Lat Mayen.

They lost Dachon Burke, Jervey Greene, and Cam Mack from last year’s team. They were also supposed to have Wisconsin-transfer Kobe King, but he later announced he wouldn’t be playing for Nebraska after all. In fact, they lost pretty much all of their top scorers from last season. They are essentially rebuilding with younger players and transfers.

Teddy Allen is leading the Huskers in scoring. He is averaging 18.3 points per game, adding 5.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 2.7 steals per game. Behind him are guards Dalano Banks (13.7) and Kobe Webster (11.1). Forward Trevor Lakes has played in just one game, but he scored 12 points in their win over Doane.

The Wisconsin basketball team is on the opposite end of the spectrum. The Badgers have experience and a group of players who have been together for a good amount of time. That will give them a huge advantage in this game. The Huskers are still learning to play with each other, which can lead to a lot of mistakes.

Mistakes are something the Badgers are pretty good at limiting. Point guard, D’Mitrik Trice, has been efficient and mistake-free in the past couple of games. Trice is just an example of the team as a whole.

The game will tip-off at 6:00 CT tonight. The Badgers will look to get off on the right foot in conference play before they face off against Michigan St. on Christmas Day. Coming off of a loss to Northwestern, I’m sure the Spartans will be looking to avenge their loss, and a win over Wisconsin would be exactly what they are looking for. Wisconsin needs to focus on its opponent tonight before they look ahead. A loss to Nebraska would be a big blow to this team’s hopes at a Big Ten Championship repeat.