Tennessee, Wisconsin announce Nov. 10 date for return game of home-and-home series postponed by pandemic

Two of the best defensive programs in the country just announced a game against once another for the 2023-24 college basketball season. Wisconsin Athletics announced Thursday that the Badgers will host Tennessee in the first week of the season. The game was originally supposed to take place a couple years back but was postponed due to COVID. Now, it’s back on.

Here was the announcement and details from Wisconsin’s website:

“The Wisconsin men’s basketball team announced on Thursday that it will host Tennessee for a non-conference game at the Kohl Center this upcoming season on November 10, 2023.

“The matchup is part of a home-and-home series that the Badgers and Volunteers agreed to back in 2019. UW traveled to Knoxville during the 2019-20 season, earning a 68-48 win at Thompson-Boling Arena. Wisconsin was originally scheduled to host Tennessee the following season, but was unable to due to complications from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21.”

There you have it. Badger vs. Vols on Nov. 10 in a game that will be lucky to crack 100 total points.

Phillips, James to test draft waters as Rick Barnes scrambles to put roster together

Speaking of the 2023-24 season…

Like most college basketball programs during the month of April, the Tennessee hoops roster is in complete flux. The Volunteers are waiting on several NBA Draft decisions while also trying to land Transfer Portal targets and figure out which of their own guys will decide to transfer. Oh, and head coach Rick Barnes is still tasked with recruiting high school talent for the future. Coaches like him and every other power five program leader have scrambled eggs for brains this time of year with the non-stop roster management carousel.

At a recent press conference, Barnes explained the difficulties in aligning timelines for all his players and potential targets. He announced that two of his top guys are about to go through the process and eventually make draft decisions…all while Barnes has to be ready to recruit their possible replacements.

“You know, both Josiah-Jordan James and Julian Phillips are going through the NBA process and that’s what they have to do. And it’s a process you have to go through. They’re certainly training for it and we want what’s best for them. Both these guys are transparent. We know that we’ve got to do what is right for our program, knowing that this time of year, with everything, it changes. Every day, something can change here or there, but the fact is it’s kind of a day-to-day ordeal that we go through this time of year.”

It’s just a tricky situation at the moment. The NBA is in full-throttle playoff mode and the teams involved are obviously focused there. Then, the deadline to make a decision isn’t until the end of May, when most portal guys will have wanted to make their decisions. So do you wait out your current guys or go ahead and recruit new ones? Furthermore, will top transfers commit amidst the uncertainty? It’s all a struggle, says Barnes, and without an easy fix.