The Badgers' full schedule consists of three exhibitions, seven regular-season home games at the Kohl Center and neutral-site games against Big East, SEC and ACC foes.
Several games already have been reported, including the Dec. 5 game at Marquette, the second part of a two-game series against Villanova on Dec. 12 and the Dec. 19 game against Auburn in Nashville.
Other already known games included the Oct. 15 exhibition at UW-Green Bay and UW’s participation in the Baha Mar Championship in Nassau, Bahamas. North Carolina State and Seton Hall also will participate in the early-season event.
But UW’s Aug. 3 schedule release notably includes an Oct. 27 exhibition against Oklahoma State – a team that went 20-15 overall and 6-12 in Big 12 play in 2025-26 – and a season-opening exhibition against UW-Parkside on Oct. 10.
The Badgers will open the regular season against Denver on Nov. 2 at the Kohl Center. Other teams coming to the Kohl Center as part of the nonconference schedule include Delaware, Fairfield, Coastal Carolina, Northeastern, Purdue-Fort Wayne and Colorado State.
The only nonconference foes to be coming off 2026 NCAA Tournament appearances are N.C. State and Villanova. But Auburn is coming off a runner-up finish in the NIT, and Marquette invested in the transfer portal after missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the Shaka Smart era.
Early-to-mid December could once again be a key stretch for the Badgers. The Marquette, Villanova and Auburn games are in a 15-day stretch, and that also is roughly around the time when each Big Ten team has its first two conference games.
UW is coming off a 2025-26 season that ended with a 24-11 overall record, 14-6 Big Ten record and another loss in the first weekend of March Madness. The 2026-27 Badgers will have at least eight newcomers (with one roster spot still open for now).
Wisconsin men’s basketball 2026-27 nonconference schedule
- Oct. 10 vs. UW-Parkside (exhibition)
- Oct. 15 at UW-Green Bay (exhibition)
- Oct. 27 vs. Oklahoma State (exhibition)
- Nov. 2 vs. Denver
- Nov. 6 vs. Delaware
- Nov. 10 vs. Fairfield
- Nov. 15 vs. Coastal Carolina
- Nov. 19 vs. N.C. State or Seton Hall in Baha Mar Championship in Nassau, Bahamas
- Nov. 20 vs. N.C. State or Seton Hall in Baha Mar Championship in Nassau, Bahamas
- Nov. 25 vs. Northeastern
- Dec. 5 at Marquette
- Dec. 12 vs. Villanova in Philadelphia (neutral site)
- Dec. 19 vs. Auburn in Nashville (neutral site)
- Dec. 22 vs. Purdue-Fort Wayne
- Dec. 30 vs. Colorado State
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin men's basketball releases full 2026-27 nonconference schedule