Wisconsin MBB News: Badgers Contact Transfer Center, Schedule Updates, More
Your weekly Wisconsin basketball news recap.
It’s been a busy week for the Wisconsin basketball program, ladies and gents, but fear not because BadgerNotes can help get you back up to speed with a roundup of some important Badgers news you may have missed.
Wisconsin Contacts a Transfer Portal Big Man
Greg Gard and the Wisconsin basketball coaching staff have been quietly active in the transfer portal, searching for some frontcourt depth after Noah Reynolds flaked on the Badgers and backed out of his commitment.
According to The Portal Report, UW contacted Mississippi State grad transfer center Will McNair Jr, who recently entered the transfer portal. Vanderbilt, Nebraska, Tulsa, Temple, Georgetown, Western Kentucky, George Washington, UTEP, and several others are also in the mix.
The 6-foot-10, 265-pound center averaged 3.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks while shooting 45.2% from the field in roughly 12 minutes per game for the Bulldogs.
McNair has 116 games of collegiate experience and is coming off a season where he finished with a 91.6 ORTG and a 0.2 PRPG, per Barttorvik, which would have been eighth on the Badgers this past season.
Wisconsin basketball has one scholarship left to fill this offseason and is kicking the tires on transfer portal depth at center who can rebound and protect the paint in a limited role next season.
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Wisconsin Has a Brutal Non-Conference Schedule
There is no right or wrong way to construct a non-conference schedule in college basketball. However, Wisconsin basketball is taking the road less traveled and scheduling one of the toughest groupings in the country ahead of an even more difficult Big Ten slate.
Here’s a look at the games know will be on the schedule next season thus far:
November 10: vs. Tennessee at the Kohl Center.
November 14: Gavitt Games on the road vs. Providence
November 20 (Fort Myers Tip-Off): vs. SMU, Virginia, and West Virginia.
November 22: Fort Myers Tip-Off continued.
December 9: on the road vs. Arizona
I also feel comfortable saying that Marquette will be on the non-conference schedule; it just hasn’t been announced yet.
Given the NCAA selection committee rewarding or completely discrediting strength of schedule last season, it’s fair to wonder if Greg Gard’s decision is a good call. That said, Wisconsin basketball returns a veteran roster and will be among the most battle-tested teams in the country come March.
As it stands, BarTorvik has Tennessee (2), Marquette (4), Arizona (15), West Virginia (22), and Providence (48) all ranked as preseason top 50 teams. Buckle up, Badger fans.
Other Wisconsin Basketball News
A source indicated to BadgerNotes and later confirmed that Greg Gard and the Wisconsin basketball program reached out to 2024 three-star power forward Dillon Battie out of Lancaster, Texas.