A revamped Wisconsin roster will look to bounce back from an early NCAA Tournament exit when the Badgers kick off their season against Denver Nov. 2 in Madison, Wis.
Wisconsin, 24-11 last season, was upset in its first-round game when 12th-seeded High Point stunned the fifth-seeded Badgers 83-82.
Denver, 15-17 last season, makes the jump this season to the West Coast Conference after finishing in a three-way tie for fourth in the Summit League.
Wisconsin, which opened with exhibition victories over in-state schools UW-Parkside (94-71) and Green Bay (96-77), has a tougher final exhibition tune-up Tuesday against Oklahoma State before the regular-season opener.
“Defensively we need to get better and we need to be able to have it translate from practice and drills to when we get under the lights,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said this month. “We’re good in spurts, but we’re not consistent enough yet.”
Seven-foot forward Nolan Winter, who averaged 13.1 points and a team-leading 8.5 rebounds, is the top returner and a preseason all-Big Ten pick. Austin Rapp averaged 9.7 points, making 58 of 160 shots from beyond the arc, and Braeden Carrington, who got an injunction for an extra year of eligibility Oct. 23, added 8.3 points off the bench.
The Badgers had to replace their starting backcourt, graduated speedster Nick Boyd (20.7 points per game) and John Blackwell (19.1 ppg), who transferred to Duke.
Wisconsin added two veteran guards to fill the void in Owen Foxwell, who played the last five seasons with the Melbourne Phoenix in the Australian NBL, and Trey Autry, who averaged 11.0 points per game last season at George Washington.
The Badgers also added Eian Elmer, who averaged 12.7 points and a team-high 5.9 rebounds to lead Miami (Ohio) to a 31-0 regular-season record.
Up front, Wisconsin added Victory Onuetu, who averaged 4.7 points and 6.9 rebounds last season at Hofstra.
Denver, which has 12 new players on its roster, was picked last in the 10-team WCC preseason poll.
Carson Johnson, who averaged 20.1 points and shot 41.4% from three-point range last season as the Summit League Player of the Year, was the Pioneers’ lone preseason all-WCC pick.
“It’s definitely a step up,” Johnson said of the challenge presented by the new conference. “You know I loved playing in the Summit League, but going to the WCC, I know it’ll be a whole new game. The level of competition is elite.”
The Pioneers retooled heavily via the transfer portal. Among the additions, Logan Threatt averaged 16.6 points at Division II Metro State and junior-college transfer forward Charlie Dimmock averaged 5.7 points in 34 games at Southern Idaho.