The Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team has officially announced its non-conference schedule for the 2026-27 season. Following a somewhat disappointing end to last season, the Badgers made little change in regard to difficulty entering next year, mixing in a nice blend of solid power conference competition along with much more winnable games against inferior opponents.
Circle the dates. Our non-con schedule is here. 🗓️
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) August 3, 2026
📎 https://t.co/y0r7ZiViup pic.twitter.com/wKQNCUQtvD
Wisconsin will kick off the year with a very easy four-game stretch, inviting Denver, Delaware, Fairfield and Coastal Carolina onto its home floor. None of those teams should pose much of an issue for the Badgers, given the fact that none of them are even projected to compete at the top of their own conferences.
Following this stretch, Wisconsin will get its first test, heading to the Bahamas to compete in the Baha Mar Invitational. The Badgers will play two games in two days, taking on either NC State or Seton Hall. Both the Wolfpack and the Pirates are teams with legitimate NCAA tournament aspirations, making this a great early-season test for Wisconsin.
Following that, Wisconsin comes back home for what should be a lighter matchup against Northeastern, which, despite returning its best player from last year in Mike Loughnane, will likely not have the moxie to compete with the Badgers on their home floor.
Things Ramping up
Following this game, however, Wisconsin will have one of its toughest stretches of the year. The Badgers start with a road trip east to take on in-state rival Marquette, which looks primed for a big-time bounce-back year. The Golden Eagles return Big East Freshman of the Year Nigel James Jr. on top of bringing in some big hitters through the portal, including Nolan Minessale, who projects as one of the best players in the conference.
Wisconsin will then get a week break before packing up and heading to Philadelphia to take on a dangerous Villanova team. The Wildcats did their due diligence in the portal this year, grabbing potential first-round pick Luigi Suigo and former five-star McDonald's All-American Kwame Evans Jr. Villanova surrounded those two with a great core as well, including returner Tyler Perkins and Ohio State transfer Devin Royal, making this one of the Badgers' tougher tests.
Wisconsin then only gets a week break before heading to Nashville to take on a hungry Auburn team. The Tigers did all kinds of work this offseason, acquiring talent from all different sectors of the country, including grabbing Narcisse Ngoy, who, just a month ago, heard his name called on NBA Draft night. Not to mention Tahaad Pettiford, one of the most dynamic guards in the country, making this one of the Badgers' toughest tasks.
Auburn lands French big man Narcisse Ngoy, one of the top available international bigs in the market
— nbadraftpoint (@nbadraftpoint) March 31, 2026
Measured in a 6’11 barefoot with a 7’7 wingspan at France’s young star game and is currently leading Frances’s second division in blocks, with 2.6 per game https://t.co/Uul864TKkC pic.twitter.com/aJgiP6xU39
Following this stretch, Wisconsin gets a break of sorts, taking on Purdue Fort Wayne on its home floor. The Badgers then wrap up nonconference play with what should be a somewhat competitive game against Colorado State, a team that is always in the NCAA tournament mix.
All in all, it's a good stretch of games for Wisconsin to warm itself up before taking on the challenges that await in Big Ten play.
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