There is no better introduction to a sport’s season than college basketball’s run of Thanksgiving tournaments. Those events have been great experiences for the Wisconsin Badgers as of late, with recent high finishes at the Battle 4 Atlantis (2022) and Maui Invitational (2021).
Greg Gard’s team will get the season rolling with another tournament this season, the Fort Myers Tip-Off. CBSSports’ Jon Rothstein reported yesterday Wisconsin will open the event with a contest against the ACC’s Virginia. The winner will then face the winner of SMU vs. West Virginia in the final round of the event.
If you’re a fan of high-paced, high-scoring basketball, Wisconsin vs Virginia is not the matchup for you. The two programs have met three times in the past decade. Here are those final scores:
- Dec 4, 2013 – Wisc 48, UVA 38
- Nov 27, 2017 – UVA 49, Wisc 37
- Nov 23, 2018 – UVA 53, Wisc 46
Not once did the total in the game hit the century mark. Round four between these two terrific basketball programs should be a tremendous introduction to the 2023-24 college basketball season.