The Wisconsin men’s basketball team will travel to Virginia as part of the 2017 Big Ten/ACC Challenge, as announced on Thursday.
“We’re looking forward to squaring off with my good friend Tony Bennett and his team,” head coach Greg Gard said. “We have tremendous respect for him and the entire Bennett family. We know we’ll be facing a talented and well-coached team. This will be an exciting early-season test for our young group. Our entire non-conference schedule is shaping up to be really challenging and will force us to grow and learn in a hurry.”
Notables:
The Badgers and Cavaliers will battle in a rematch of a home-and-home Challenge series in which UVA won at the Kohl Center in 2012 and UW claimed a win in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2013.
Wisconsin has appeared in each of the 18 Big Ten/ACC Challenges, sporting a 9-9 all-time record and owning the second-best win percentage among Big Ten teams.
The Badgers have won their last two Challenge outings, winning at Syracuse in 2015 and beating the Orange at home in 2016.
Virginia has won three straight Big Ten/ACC Challenge games and is 11-6 all-time in the event. The Cavaliers are 6-2 at home in the Challenge.
Head coaches Greg Gard and Tony Bennett served together as assistant coaches at Wisconsin on the Badgers’ 2002 and 2003 Big Ten championship teams.
