Breaking Down the Badgers 2024-25 Non-Conference Schedule

How important is finding the right mix of challenging games and surefire wins in non-conference play?

Just ask Shaheen Holloway and the Seton Hall Pirates, who only faced one NCAA Tournament team -- and lost -- in the non-con last year and ended up on the wrong side of the bubble in March. Or the Xavier Musketeers, who entered Big East play 6-6 after scheduling bouts with Houston, Purdue and St. Mary's.

Last season, Greg Gard and the Badgers found themselves on Xavier's end of the spectrum, having to meet Tennessee, Virginia, Marquette, Arizona and Providence (pre-Bryce Hopkins injury) before running the Big 10 gauntlet.

While it worked out for Wisconsin in 2023-24, the program took a different approach to non-con scheduling this year.

Here are some key takeaways and games of the Badgers' 2024-25 non-conference schedule, and why it might be best for Wisconsin to take it easy in the non-con.

Badgers Playing Close to Home

Wisconsin went on the road to face Arizona and Providence last season and lost both games by double-digits. In 2024-25, the Badgers will have only one true road game but still won't need to travel out of state, with this year's I-94 rivalry game being held in Milwaukee.

Even the team's invitational tournament will be closer to Madison. After traveling to Fort Myers, Florida for the Fort Myers Tip-Off a year ago, the Badgers will shave off some travel miles and compete in the inaugural Greenbrier Tip-Off in West Virginia.

In the first year of the coast-to-coast Big 10, maintaining a light travel schedule in the non-con could pay dividends during the dog days of conference play.

Matchups to keep an eye on

Of course, the most important games for Wisconsin will be home against Arizona on Nov. 15 and at Marquette on Dec. 7. These contests will likely be the Badgers best chance at a Quad 1 win during the non-conference and should be a good test for the team, win or loss.

However, it's a pair of less obvious contests that I'll be looking forward to the most.

Nov. 7 vs Montana State

Montana State has the mixture of returning talent and transfer portal additions that can't go overlooked by the Badgers. Montana State earned the Big Sky's NCAA Tournament bid for a third straight season despite entering as the No. 5 seed with a 14-17 record.

Until that point, the Bobcats' season was a rollercoaster, peaking with a non-con win over Cal and bottoming out with a 28-point loss to South Dakota State.

The team returns three of their top four scorers from a season ago in Brian Goracke, Brandon Walker and Patrick McMahon -- who averaged 13 points in three appearances before suffering a season-ending injury -- in addition to Tyler Patterson (35.3 minutes per game) and Sam Lecholat (22.2 minutes per game).

Additionally, Montana State grabbed a pair of veterans out of the portal. 6-foot-6 win Jabe Mullins is a 37.1 percent career three-point shooter who spent two seasons at Saint Mary's and a pair of seasons at Washington State prior to joining the Bobcats. Max Agbonkpolo comes over for his sixth collegiate season (three at USC, one at Wyoming and one at Utah State), after averaging 5.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game in 23.6 minutes across 10 games played. The 6-foot-9 Agbonkpolo has appeared in 26 combined games the last two years.

Dec. 14 vs Butler (Neutral Site)

The Badgers and Bulldogs will meet head-to-head for the first time since the 2011 Sweet Sixteen as part of the Indy Classic located in Indianapolis. While it technically is a neutral-court game due to its location at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the contest is essentially a home game for Butler

Butler narrowly missed the 2024 NCAA Tournament, but retained their top two scorers (Pierre Brooks and Jahmyl Telfort) and other key pieces. In 2023-24, Butler flashed some upside, taking down Marquette on the road and Creighton at home before finishing with an 18-15 overall record.

While the Bulldogs took some hits in the portal, they brought in several replacements, including a pair of familiar faces. Patrick McCaffery of Iowa and Jaime Kaiser Jr. of Maryland will be joining Butler in Indianapolis this season while junior guard Kolby King (10.4 points, 1.4 steals per game) transferred in from Tulane.

Outside of the road game against Marquette, this will likely be the toughest environment the Badgers will have to play at during non-conference play.

Is an "easy" non-conference schedule good for Wisconsin?

Wins are never something to complain about -- and the Badgers non-con should be chock-full of them -- but the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee has tended to sympathize with teams who scheduled hard in the non-conference slate.

Additionally, with Wisconsin slated to be heavy favorites in most of their non-conference games, there's more opportunities for "bad" losses than "good" wins that become ever-so important when NCAA Tournament resume conversations begin in February.

Yet, I'm perfectly content with the Badgers' non-conference schedule. Unlike 2023-24, there are new pieces to this team that will likely take time to mesh and grow into a final product. Having a handful of matchups against inferior opponents will give Gard and Co. time to figure things out and offers some room for error while they do so.

As long as the team wins the games they are supposed to and take advantage of the many opportunities for Quadrant 1 and 2 wins during Big 10 play, the Badgers could be set up for a very successful season.