The Wisconsin Badgers are taking on the Providence Friars in their first game of the Rady Children’s Invitational on Thursday, hoping to bounce back after a disappointing 98-70 loss to the BYU Cougars
last Friday.
Wisconsin went into that game with high hopes, looking to prove themselves as a top team in the country early on, but they just couldn’t respond to the punches that BYU threw. They struggled to shoot from the field and defend one of the top offenses in the country.
The loss knocked the Badgers out of the Top 25, and they also fell several spots in the KenPom rankings to No. 25, with their offense slipping from the top 10 to No. 20 and their defense dropping all the way to No. 52.
Wisconsin’s starters shot a combined 2/21 from three, while Austin Rapp and John Blackwell were a combined 3/20 from the field. As a result, the Badgers were below 40 percent from the field and under 25 percent from deep on an ugly day.
They face a Providence team that has averaged 93.5 points per game, but has lost to Virginia Tech and Colorado already. The Friars defense has not looked pretty so far, allowing over 82 points per game, but they play at a top-25 pace in the country, which Wisconsin will need to control.
Wisconsin has seen some multi-team tournament success over the past few seasons, winning three in the past four years, including back-to-back ones in 2024 and 2025. Should they beat Providence, they would move on to play either TCU or Florida in the championship game.
Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. on Thursday on FS1 at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. Join us as our game thread is officially open!
