Wisconsin Basketball: 2020-21 season preview for the Badgers

Schedule outlook for 2020-21

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, there will be no non-conference play in the 2020-21 season.

For many teams, this will hurt their strength of schedule and could possibly impact their bubble implications for the NCAA tournament.

Wisconsin is one of those teams.

The Gavitt Games are highly unlikely to be played, and as of right now it looks like the only non-conference game that could be played is the ACC/Big Ten Challenge with a target date of December 8th and 9th.

These are two big games that could boost an early-season resume.

As far as conference play goes, the Badgers have yet another year of facing off against arguably the best conference in the country.

They held their own last year, and a late eight-game winning streak propelled them to a share of the Big Ten title and the 1 seed in the Big Ten tournament.

Although the conference may not be as deep and loaded as last season, wins will be hard to come by.

This year the Big Ten looks more top-heavy than usual, with schools like Iowa and Illinois at the top of rankings everywhere.

You can never count out Michigan State and Ohio State, teams that no matter what is always in the thick of things.

Sneaky teams like Rutgers and Indiana aren’t slouches either, and with their returning roster’s it looks like it will be a dog fight come conference play.

The Badgers are going to have to find their identity early, and with little to no non-conference play, they can’t afford a rocky start in Madison.