Preview: Campbell at No. 24 Wisconsin
MADISON, Wis. — The 2025-26 college basketball season is officially here. In one of the most anticipated seasons in recent memory, No. 24 Wisconsin will open up against Campbell in the first-ever meeting between the two programs. Retaining a pair of starters while making a few splashes in the transfer portal, the Badgers have a real shot to top last season’s offensive performance, which saw the team average 80 ppg for just the 10th time in school history while also setting a program record with 366 3-pointers.
GAME INFO
Time: 7 p.m. CT
Where: Kohl Center (Madison, Wis.)
TV: N/A
Stream: Big Ten Network+
TV Crew: N/A
Series History: First Meeting
Last Meeting: N/A
Line: Wisconsin – 20
NUMBERS TO KNOW
1: Monday marks the first-ever meeting between Campbell and Wisconsin.
2: The Badgers are facing a CAA opponent for just the second time in school history. The first came back in 2004 against the College of Charleston.
8: Greg Gard is 8-1 in season-openers.
9: The Badgers have won their home opener in nine consecutive seasons.
22.7: UW is winning its home openers by an average of 22.7 points under Gard.
26: UW has won its home opener in 26 of the last 27 seasons.
2020-21: The Badgers enter the season ranked for the first time since 2020-21.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS
CAMPBELL
G Tasos Cook (6-2 Sr.) – 4.9 ppg, 1.2 apg
G Jeremiah Johnson (6-4 So.) – 10.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg
G Cam Gregory (6-5 Sr.) – 7.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg
F Muneer Newton (6-5 Sr.) – 8.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg
F Dovydas Butka (6-9 So.) – 9.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg
WISCONSIN
G Nick Boyd (6-2 Sr.) – 13.4 ppg, 3.9 apg
G John Blackwell (6-4 Jr.) – 15.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg
G Andrew Rohde (6-5 Sr.) – 9.3 ppg, 4.3 apg
F Austin Rapp (6-10 So.) – 13.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg
F Nolan Winter (7-0 Jr.) – 9.4 ppg 5.8 rpg
WHAT TO WATCH
Wisconsin found out a few of its flaws during the pre-season. Arguably the biggest hole in the lineup, the lack of physicality and dominance around the rim.
While Winter is back and the Badgers have added Rapp, neither is really a back-to-the-basket scorer or great 1-on-1 interior defender. UW needs to get it from its bench in true freshmen Will Garlock (7-0) and Alexis Bieliauskas (6-10). Against a smaller, mid-major opponent, can this duo build some confidence before that clash with BYU in November?
“Will, he’s done some good things in practice,” Gard said after the team’s exhibition win over Oklahoma. “He’s a house in there. I need to play him. It’s not where is he on Oct. 24, but where will he be on February 24? Physically, he has a lot of potential, a lot of talent.”
PREDICTION
Wisconsin 93 Campbell 69
Campbell was somewhat competitive in their three contests against power-four foes last season. The Camels fell 65-56 to Virginia and 97-81 to North Carolina. However, Campbell was blown out 104-60 to Ohio State last November. This team got hot in January and February, ripping off seven straight wins and looking like a threat to win the Coastal Athletic Association, but fell off by losing their final five games.
After a 15-17 season, Campbell retained two starters and added some nice pieces in the transfer portal, including Butka, who was a CAA All-Freshman pick at Pepperdine. Johnson was also the third-leading scorer for Green Bay as a freshman. This was a four-star recruit in high school until an errant gunshot wound ended his prep career.
With the transient nature of college basketball, you never know how much last season really matters, but in game one, it’s all we’ve got. Campbell was one of the lowest-scoring teams in the country in 2024-25, averaging 68.9 ppg. On the other end, the Camels allowed opponents to shoot 47 percent from the field, which ranks No. 305 in the country.
Throw the Platteville game out of your memory. This Wisconsin team is a lot closer to what took place against Oklahoma. In that exhibition loss, the Badgers scored 83 points on a rough shooting night where they didn’t show hardly any offensive sets.
Wisconsin 87 Campbell 63
