Wisconsin’s exhibition run reaches its toughest checkpoint yet on Friday night, and the Badgers are doing it against a familiar program from the Sooner State.
After opening with a Division-2 win over Parkside on October 10 and then winning at Green Bay on October 15, UW finishes its preseason slate by hosting Oklahoma State at the Kohl Center at 6:30 p.m. on BTN+. It’s the first matchup with the Cowboys since 1983, and it comes just before Wisconsin opens the regular season on November 2.
The jump in competition is real. Oklahoma State arrives after putting up 63 percent shooting in an exhibition win over Tulsa, a sign that this group can score in a hurry when its guards get rolling.
Kahie Natt was right in the middle of that performance, nearly posting a triple-double with 26 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. He also added a game-high five steals after hitting eight field goals and eight free throws.
Wisconsin will also get another look at freshman Anthony Felesi, who has stepped into a bigger role with senior guard Kayne Clary out. Felesi has already shown flashes across the Cowboys’ exhibitions, scoring 18 points with six rebounds in 28 minutes against New Mexico, then following that with 10 points and four rebounds in 29 minutes against Tulsa.
For Wisconsin, though, the biggest offensive development so far has been Owen Foxwell. His first game in American basketball was more about setting the table - six assists, careful shot selection and four turnovers - but his second outing showed a guard who can take over stretches himself. Foxwell had eight points during a 10-0 run that flipped a competitive first half, starting it with a three-pointer and then capping it with a fast-break layup off a steal.
He finished with 21 points on 5-for-8 shooting, plus six assists and four steals. Just as important, he cut his turnovers to two. With size and depth in the frontcourt and enough capable guards around him, Wisconsin’s ability to get Foxwell comfortable inside the offense will be a major piece if the Badgers want to stay as efficient as they were last season.
The front line will get its most demanding test yet, too. Wisconsin has owned the size battle in its first two exhibitions with Nolan Winter, Austin Rapp, Will Garlock and Victory Onuetu, but Oklahoma State brings more length to the table. The Cowboys list five players at 6-10 or taller, and that kind of body count changes the feel of every possession.
There’s some uncertainty on the Oklahoma State side as well. It’s unclear whether the Cowboys will have 6-10 forward Mekhi Ragland, one of four returners from last season, or 6-9 forward Jordan Burks, who led OSU in scoring during its July exhibition tour at 14.3 points per game. Even so, the Cowboys already showed enough against Tulsa to be a problem at the defensive end, holding the Golden Hurricane to 43.6 percent shooting with seven steals and three blocks.
They also did enough on the glass to matter. The group that played in that exhibition was loose enough to allow 13 offensive rebounds, but a major chunk of that same rotation had already delivered 22 offensive boards and a 27-12 second-chance edge against New Mexico in the first exhibition game.
That’s why this matchup should tell Wisconsin something useful on both ends. The Badgers won’t see another power-conference opponent until the Big Ten opener, though NC State could still be waiting in The Bahamas, so these possessions against Oklahoma State carry extra value.
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Wisconsins Rotation Is Taking Shape Around One Growing Concern
Wisconsins exhibition slate offered enough to feel encouraged and enough to keep the staff measuring the depth chart with caution. The Badgers finished 3-0, capped by a win over Oklahoma State, and Owen Foxwell looked like the guard most ready to steady things early. He brought efficient scoring and a clear presence in the backcourt, the kind of start that can settle a team while the rest of the rotation sorts itself out.
The bigger question now is what happens in the minutes around him. Other players have flashed, but nobody has yet locked down a dependable scoring role, which leaves the Badgers with a real sense of possibility and a lingering concern as the season approaches. Wisconsin has a workable foundation, but the way those non-Foxwell possessions are filled in may end up shaping how quickly this group finds its rhythm once the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
Badgers Showed Real Promise But One Issue Still Stands Out
The Badgers closed the preseason with a convincing 82-65 win over Oklahoma State, a performance that offered a cleaner snapshot of what this group can be when the offense is clicking. Owen Foxwell led the way with 19 points and three assists, and he was especially sharp from deep, going 3-for-3 from three-point range as Wisconsin shot 43.9 percent from beyond the arc.
Even with the strong shooting night and a defense that held the Cowboys to 65 points, there was still a familiar issue sitting in the background. Wisconsin turned the ball over 15 times, and while that did not spoil the result in an exhibition setting, it remains the kind of detail that can undercut a promising night once the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Faces Two Iowa Unknowns That Could Decide The Heartland Trophy
Wisconsin heads to Iowa this week with the kind of game that can turn on small details, and the matchup already has a little extra uncertainty baked in. The Badgers, now No. 25, are facing an Iowa team that slipped out of the AP Poll after its loss to Minnesota, but the bigger question is what the Hawkeyes will look like on offense with the quarterback situation still unsettled and Hank Brown set to start.
There is another layer of unpredictability around Iowas backfield, too, with star running back Kamari Moulton out for the season and the workload shifting elsewhere. For Wisconsin, that means preparing for a rivalry game in which the usual scouting report may not hold up for long, and the Heartland Trophy could come down to which side adapts fastest once the ball is kicked off. [Read more 🡒]