Wisconsin basketball coach Greg Gard shared his views on his team’s recently scheduled nonconference game against the BYU Cougars on Tuesday.
Roughly one week after reports surfaced regarding the Nov. 21 contest against the Cougars in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the Utah Jazz‘s Delta Center, the program formally announced the game with a press release.
“We’re really excited that we’re able to schedule this game with BYU,” Gard told UWBadgers.com. “Our game last year was one of the best of the NCAA Tournament, and I think both fan bases will enjoy seeing a rematch this season. We have always tried to challenge ourselves in the nonconference schedule to prepare the team for Big Ten play and beyond and this game certainly will do so.”
The Badgers will certainly gear up for another highly anticipated test against Kevin Young’s crew. The Cougars secured a 91-89 victory on March 22. The game featured 37 points from former star Badger John Tonje and 25 points from BYU veteran Richie Saunders.
While Tonje will not return to the hardwood for the Badgers in Utah, the Cougars return Saunders, send out starting center Keba Keita and welcome in freshman small forward A.J. Dybantsa, a five-star recruit who is projected to be the No. 1 pick of the 2026 NBA draft. Wisconsin, meanwhile, projects to start former San Diego State guard Nick Boyd, former Virginia wing Andrew Rhode and former Portland forward Austin Rapp alongside returning starters John Blackwell and Nolan Winter.
The Badgers’ nonconference slate will include a neutral-site game against the Villanova Wildcats at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Dec. 19, an exhibition against the Oklahoma Sooners on Oct. 24 in Milwaukee and an appearance in the Rady’s Children’s Invitational in late November.
Games outside the Big Ten have traditionally enabled the Badgers to gauge where they stand against potential NCAA Tournament participants. Those games allow Gard to experiment with rotations and evaluate how his athletes perform alongside one another. With Dybantsa at the helm for BYU, Wisconsin’s Nov. 21 bout against the Cougars will also draw eyeballs.
The battle is expected to be the first of a home-and-home series with BYU traveling to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 2026. Gard and company will look to notch an early signature win to start the 2025-26 regular season.
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