Preview: Wisconsin hosts No. 9 Tennessee in early-season test

Wisconsin (1-0) vs. No. 9 Tennessee (1-0)

Game: Friday, Nov. 10 inside the Kohl Center

Time: 8:00 P.M. CT

Watch: Peacock

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

Prediction: Tennessee 78, Wisconsin 71

Follow Online: The Badgers' Den

Twitter: @Badger_Blitz

Betting line: Tennessee -1.5

MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Badgers will face one of their biggest challenges of the regular season in just the second game, when the No. 9 Tennessee Volunteers visit on Friday night. This is the first time an AP Top 10 team has played in the Kohl Center in November.

The origin of this uncommon matchup traces back to January 2019, when Tennessee and Wisconsin announced a home-and-home series.

Wisconsin beat the Vols, 64-48, in December 2019 in Knoxville. Tennessee was supposed to travel to Madison in 2020, but that matchup was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The two teams will finally play the second half of the series on Friday night.

The Badgers will enter with some momentum, at least on offense. In their season opener, they defeated Arkansas State, 105-76, which is the most points the Badgers have ever scored in the Kohl Center.

“A little surprised by the 105, but not surprised by it happening,” guard Max Klesmit said. “Through working in the offseason and the summer, you could feel it. It was just a different sense of urgency this year, a sense that we have to go get it.”

Chucky Hepburn led the way with 20 points on 7-10 shooting, six assists and three steals. The lead guard slimmed down over the offseason and should take advantage of one of the deepest Wisconsin teams in years.

Hepburn finished with the most points, but the early star was A.J. Storr, the transfer wing from St. John’s. Storr finished with 15 points, and scored 11 in the first 13 minutes. He’s the best pure scorer on this year’s team, and may be the best scorer Wisconsin has seen in years.

The other starting guard, Klesmit, finished with 14 points on a perfect 5-5 shooting night. Klesmit began his Badger career as a defensive specialist, but slowly became a reliable scorer throughout the course of last season.

The surprise of the first game was John Blackwell. The freshman guard finished with a bench-high 12 points off of 3-3 shooting from the field and 5-7 from the free-throw line. He can score with or without the ball and even provides some extra energy on defense.

Tyler Wahl finished with the lowest point (8) and minute (14) total of any Badger starter on Monday, likely because there’s nothing else for Greg Gard to really learn about or see from him. He returned to the Badgers for a fifth year, and is still probably Wisconsin’s best player, despite the quiet opener.

The Vols returned three of their four double-digit scorers from a year ago — guards Santiago Vescovi, Zakai Zeigler and Josiah-Jordan James.

Vescovi, a Uruguayan senior who led the team in scoring last year, finished with just two points in the Vols’ season-opening, 80-42 win over Tennessee Tech.

Wisconsin will have to keep their eyes on James, the fifth-year senior guard who shot 4-of-5 from 3-point range in the opener. He made four 3-pointers five separate times over 24 games for Tennessee last season, and will force the Badgers to extend their defense.

The Vol who shined brightest in the lopsided first game was Dalton Knecht, the transfer from Northern Colorado who finished with a team-high 17 points on 6-11 shooting. He also scored 28 points in Tennessee’s Oct. 29 exhibition game against Michigan State, proving he can compete against even the toughest Big Ten teams.

Another new face is shooting guard Freddie Dilione, a top-40 2022 recruit, according to Rivals.com, who redshirted his freshman season. He came off of the bench and finished with a 7-3-3 stat line in the first game.

Tennessee returns another key veteran in Zeigler, who tore his ACL in February, ending his season prematurely. The 5-foot-9 point guard led the Vols in assists last season and now has even more scoring talent around him. The junior did only play 13 minutes in the opener, as his ACL injury has put him on a minutes restriction. He’s still a savvy veteran who the Badgers can’t discount, even in his limited minutes.

“He’s got more depth than he’s normally had. He’s got interchangeable parts. They’ve got experience,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said of Tennessee coach Rick Barnes after the exhibition game. “Since he’s a friend of mine, let’s put pressure on him: That’s a Final Four team. I really believe that.”

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