Badger Basketball: 3 Things We Want to See in Exhibition vs UW-River Falls

After a long and difficult offseason, basketball is back (sort of). The Badgers will tip-off against UW-River Falls tonight in an exhibition ahead of their November 4th opener against Holy Cross. They'll be a lot of new faces and lot of things to look for, even if the game doesn't actually count. So what are some things we want to see tonight?

1. How do the transfers and freshmen fit in?

After losing AJ Storr and Chucky Hepburn to the portal, Greg Gard and company brought in Camren Hunter, John Tonje and Xavier Amos. Freshmen Daniel Freitag, Riccardo Greppi and Jack Robison also fold into the mix for a total of six new faces. There may be some early chemistry issues, but the main thing to look for tonight is potential. Freitag might end up being the bast player the Badgers have had in years.

2. Who will start?

Early reports curiously had Nolan Winter as a starter alongside John Blackwell, Steven Crowl and Max Klesmit. It's surprising since Xavier Amos had gotten glowing reviews all summer, but it seems as though he'll take a back seat for now while Winter gets the nod and Tonje most likely fills out the final spot. Who knows, maybe the Badgers don't have a true starting lineup this year and roll out several different rotations throughout the season. Still, it's hard to say if it's because the team has nice depth, or not enough players worthy of starting.

3. A blowout

The last time the Badgers played UW-River falls in a preseason exhibition was in 2015, where they won 101-46. I wouldn't expect quite that bad of a beat down, but regardless, if Wisconsin doesn't win by 20 or more, there should be cause for concern. True, it is a 'meaningless' game, but the Badgers already lost by 10 to Northern Iowa in a secret scrimmage last week. This is the last opportunity to figure things out before these games start counting, and if the Badgers are barely squeaking by D-III schools it's going to be a long season.