Wisconsin will meet Louisville in Big Ten/ACC Challenge

We now know the date of two of Wisconsin’s opponents this basketball season.

A couple days after learning the Badgers would face Marquette on Dec. 4 in Milwaukee, it was announced Wisconsin would take on Louisville in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge Dec. 9 at the Kohl Center.

This will be the first meeting between the Badgers and Cardinals since 1978 and just the second all time. Louisville won that game 73-50.

This time, Wisconsin figures to be favorites. The Badgers return nearly their entire team from a season ago when they won the final eight games of the regular season to claim a share of the Big Ten title. Most publications have them starting inside the top 15 in the country and in many cases inside the top-10.

The Cardinals, coached by former Xavier coach Chris Mack, will have quite the different look than last season when they spent time at No. 1 in the country. Six players that played double-digit numbers are gone and Louisville figures to lean on Radford transfer guard Carlik Jones (20.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.5 assists) and sophomore David Johnson this season.

College basketball can get underway as early as Nov. 25, but it remains unclear if the Badgers will play a game on opening night, as their full schedule has not been released.