How do the Badgers match up against Holy Cross in the season opener?
It’s the start of the men’s basketball season! The Wisconsin Badgers take on the Holy Cross Crusaders at the Kohl Center tonight at 7 p.m. The Badgers enter their season opener as a 25.5-point favorite.
Last season, Wisconsin finished the 2023-24 season with another trip to the NCAA tournament but was upset by the James Madison Dukes 72-61 at the Barclays Center in the first round. It was the final game for senior Badgers forward Tyler Wahl, who is now playing basketball professionally in Croatia.
What should Badgers fans know about Holy Cross?
Opponent Preview
Holy Cross enters its second season under the leadership of former Bucknell and George Mason coach Dave Paulson. The Crusaders look to improve from their 10-23 overall record last season, when they finished 6-12 in conference play. According to the Patriot League preseason poll, the Crusaders were picked to finish second-to-last in the conference.
The Crusaders return Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Caleb Kenney, who led Holy Cross with 6.5 rebounds and over two blocks per game. Kenney was named to the All-Patriot League Second Team last year and earned 2024-25 preseason Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year honors. He is expected to take on more leadership duties for the Crusaders this season.
One of the questions for Holy Cross will be about who steps up at the guard positions. Leading scorer and All-Patriot League Third Team honoree Joe Octave is now at Stony Brook, and guard Bo Montgomery, who started nineteen games, transferred to UNC-Wilmington this offseason. Junior Will Batchelder returns for the Crusaders at one of the guard positions. Batchelder finished last season starting 30 of 31 games and scoring 8.6 PPG. Left-hander Joe Nugent, who can play guard and forward, was their leading three-point shooter at 40.3%, making 56 three-pointers.
According to Michael McCleary of BadgerExtra, the Holy Cross Crusaders ranked low in KenPom rankings for both offensive and defensive efficiency. Last season, Holy Cross finished 322nd in adjusted offensive efficiency and 356th in adjusted defensive efficiency.
Score Prediction
The exhibition game against UW-River Falls was concerning, but the Badgers were able to settle down and eventually pull away against their Division III foes. Wisconsin has won 25 out of its last 26 men’s basketball season home openers and scored over 100 points in last year’s opener against Arkansas State. I expect the home opener success to continue with a dominant win at home against a team coming off a ten-win season.
Prediction: Wisconsin 89-60.