Wisconsin (0-0) vs. Arkansas State (0-0)

Game: Monday, Nov. 6 inside the Kohl Center

Time: 7:00 P.M. CT

Watch: Only on B1G+

Listen: 1310 WIBA AM and 101.5 FM (Matt Lepay and Brian Butch on the call); stream online on iHeartRadio

Prediction: Wisconsin 82, Arkansas State 65

Follow Online: The Badgers' Den

Twitter: @Badger_Blitz

Betting line: Wisconsin -14.5

The Badgers should be especially motivated after finishing last season with a 20-15 record and missing the NCAA Tournament for just the second time this century.

Such a disappointing end to the season was likely a major factor in every single player from last year’s roster returning.

They’ll be led by fifth-year senior Tyler Wahl, the oldest and most versatile player on the roster. Wahl also proved to be the most valuable last season, as the team cratered after he suffered an ankle injury about midway through last season. They were 11-2 before his injury and 6-13 after, excluding the postseason.

Chucky Hepburn, who led last year’s team in points, assists and steals, is back and has even lost weight. Steven Crowl had the best year of his career and became an emphasis of the offensive gameplan. He averaged 12.1 points per game on 51% shooting, and scored a career-high 36 points in the first round of the NIT Tournament against Bradley.

Connor Essegian was last year’s lone freshman and became the surprise of the season, eventually earning a starting job. He became one of Wisconsin’s go-to scoring options, and finished the season averaging 11.7 points per game, which was third on the team.

Unlike last year’s Badgers, this team has a plethora of new talent to lean on.

The most notable offseason addition was A.J. Storr, a sophomore transfer from St. John’s. The 6-foot-7 wing became the star of preseason practices and will instantly enter as the most talented scorer on the team.

This is also one of the more promising freshman groups in years.

Big man Nolan Winter is the second-tallest player on the team at 6-foot-11, but already has skills that typically take years to develop for a player of Winter’s size. Winter will likely see solid playing time almost immediately given Wisconsin’s relative scarcity of quality big men. It may be slightly harder for another freshman, John Blackwell, to break through. Blackwell does, however, possess some rare defensive intensity and scoring chops for a freshman.

Fans should prepare to see a healthy dose of these freshmen, and eventually Gus Yalden, the other first-year big man who recently announced that he’d be stepping away from the team due to a personal matter.

The new-look Badgers team will prepare to face off against an Arkansas State team that’s entering a new era.

They just hired Bryan Hodgson, who spent the past four seasons as one of the best recruiters and assistants in the country at Alabama. Hodgson will take over a Red Wolves team that finished second-to-last in the Sun Belt with a 13-20 record last season.

The first-year head coach brought in a few promising players via the transfer portal, including two potential starters in Derrian Ford and Freddy Hicks. Ford transferred from Arkansas and started in the Red Wolves’ two exhibition games, where he scored 39 total points and shot 9-11 from 3.

Hicks was one of two Arkansas State players to make the preseason All-Sun Belt Third Team, along with Terrance Ford. Ford made a strong impression as a freshman last season, finishing third on the team in points, even averaging 15.2 over the last 10 games of the season.

Arkansas State also returned most of its contributors from last year, yet there was no true leader on paper. Point guard Caleb Fields led the team in points and assists, with 11.4 and 4.6, respectively.

Last season, the Red Wolves began the year with a combined 424 career games played among all players. Combine the new additions with the returning roster, that number now totals 791 career games played across 16 players.

Alabama ranked fourth nationally in adjusted tempo last season, averaging 72.6 possessions per 40 minutes, according to kenpom. Early returns are that Hodgson wants to do the same with the Red Wolves, which scored 112 points on 71 possessions in each of their two exhibition games. The ball movement was also evident, as Arkansas State doled out 47 assists to just 13 turnovers.

Hodgson will look to turn around a Red Wolves program that has only finished with a winning record once over the past six seasons, while the Badgers will try to get back on track after a low-point in the Greg Gard era.

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