The Wisconsin Badgers begin their 2025-26 season taking on Campbell at the Kohl Center at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Wisconsin comes in as a 20.5-point favorite.
Last Wednesday, Wisconsin pulled away from UW-Platteville
69-53 in their final exhibition game of the season. Despite a lackluster shooting night from the Badger offense, Nolan Winter starred for Wisconsin. The junior forward led the Badgers with 17 points and 15 rebounds.
What should Badger fans know about the Campbell Fighting Camels?
Opponent Preview
After 12 seasons as head coach, Kevin McGeehan’s contract was not renewed by Campbell in March following the Camels’ upset loss to Delaware in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) tournament. In April, the Camels selected Florida assistant coach John Andrzejek as their new head coach.
Last season, the Camels finished with a regular-season record of 15-17 and a 10-8 record in CAA games, but two of their starters are now playing elsewhere. Campbell’s leading scorer, Colby Duggan, is now at the College of Charleston. Leading rebounder Nolan Dorsey is at California. The other two starters, Caleb Zurliene and Jason Sinai, have exhausted their eligibility.
The only starter who returned for the 2025-26 season is senior guard Cam Gregory. Gregory started in 31 games for the Camels and averaged 7.8 PPG, 2.6 RPG, and 2.0 APG last season. The Camels also return senior guard Tasos Cook, who made seven starts for Campbell last season.
In the transfer portal, the Camels landed UW-Green Bay guard Jeremiah Johnson. In 27 starts as a freshman, Johnson averaged 10.5 PPA, 4.5 RPG, and 1.2 APG. Another transfer, Muneer Newton from Delaware State, started all 30 games last season and averaged 8.9 PPG and 5.9 RPG.
In the frontcourt, the Camels feature six-foot-nine forward Dovydas Butka, a Peppertine transfer who averaged 9.6 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 2.2 APG last season. Burka was the only Campbell player to receive any CAA Preseason nominations, coming in as an Honorable Mention selection.
Score Prediction
It’s difficult to predict the opening game of any season, especially against an opponent with a new head coach and a new roster. Therefore, I expect the Badgers to experience early jitters and some choppy play on Monday.
Remember last season’s home opener against Holy Cross? The Badgers were down by as many as 16 points in the first half and were training the underdog Crusaders at halftime before dominating the second half. I will not be surprised if we see Campbell capture a sizable lead on Wisconsin early on before the Badgers’ talent takes off.
Prediction: Wisconsin 75-60.
