Who will the Louisville Men’s Basketball team face in the ACC-Big 10 Challenge this season? The answer has been officially revealed. Louisville announced they will travel to Wisconsin to face the Badgers. This is the first time the Cards and Badgers have faced off in the ACC-Big 10 Challenge.
Wisconsin is projected by many leading basketball insiders and writers to be in or just outside their respective top 10s. It’s for good reason as the Badgers return virtually everyone from last year’s team that won a share of the Big 10 regular season title.
Louisville, depending on which rankings you look at is ranked anywhere from top 15 to being unranked. The Cards have much more turnover than Wisconsin has, but they do have a solid foundation with big man Malik Williams expected to anchor the defense while sophomore guard David Johnson, grad transfer Carlik Jones, and sophomore G/F Samuell Williamson look to have the offense rolling.
The game is scheduled for Wednesday December 9th. TV Network and tip time are to be determined.
For more information on the matchup, read Louisville’s full press release below.
Cards 𝙖𝙩 Badgers.
— Louisville Basketball (@LouisvilleMBB) October 30, 2020
December 9.
The #ACCB1G Challenge is set. pic.twitter.com/v5HiHveW4s
PRESS RELEASE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT:
Louisville Will Face Wisconsin in ACC-Big Ten Challenge
Cardinals will visit the preseason top 10 foe in Madison, Wisc. on Dec. 9 in the 2020 event
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The University of Louisville men’s basketball team will play at Wisconsin in the 22nd Annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Wednesday, Dec. 9 in Madison, Wisc.
Ranked 17th nationally in the final 2019-20 Associated Press poll, Wisconsin posted a 21-10 overall record and claimed its 19th Big Ten championship in school history, and first since 2015. Ranked seventh in the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook 2020-21 preseason rankings, the Badgers won their final eight games of the season before the coronavirus shut down the season.
Louisville has won four of its six previous challenge events since joining the ACC, including a 58-43 victory over No. 4 Michigan in the KFC Yum! Center in last year’s event. The Cardinals beat No. 14 Ohio State 64-55 in Louisville in the 2015 ACC/Big Ten Challenge, fell 71-67 at No. 3 Michigan State in 2015, prevailed 71-64 over No. 15 Purdue in Louisville in 2016, lost 66-57 at Purdue in 2017, and beat No. 9 Michigan State 82-78 in overtime in the 2018 event.
UofL won its only previous matchup against Wisconsin 42 years ago, beating the Badgers 70-53 in the first game of the Louisville Holiday Classic on Dec. 28, 1978. Derek Smith led the Cardinals with 17 points off the bench in that game, adding 10 rebounds in 24 minutes. Claude Gregory paced Wisconsin with 17 points and five steals.
Last season, the Cardinals posted a 24-7 record, tied for second in the ACC with a 15-5 mark, and finished the season positioned eighth in the nation in the NCAA’s NET rankings (No. 14 AP, No. 13 USA Today). It was the best overall record through 31 games for a Louisville team in six years and marked the most conference victories for the Cardinals in their six years in the ACC. The Cardinals return three of their top nine scorers (two of its top six), including a pair of late-season starters in Malik Williams and sophomore guard David Johnson.
2020 ACC/Big Ten Challenge
Boston College at Minnesota
Illinois at Duke
North Carolina at Iowa
Ohio State at Notre Dame
Penn State at Virginia Tech
Purdue at Miami
Syracuse at Rutgers
Georgia Tech at Nebraska
Indiana at Florida State
Louisville at Wisconsin
Maryland at Clemson
Michigan State at Virginia
NC State at Michigan
Pitt at Northwestern
