Wisconsin basketball seeks third-straight holiday tournament title
Before a potential matchup with the reigning national champions, Wisconsin basketball faces the Providence Friars
A long westerly road trip for Wisconsin basketball finally reaches its conclusion with the 2025 Rady Children’s Invitational on Thanksgiving weekend. After Wisconsin Badgers head coach Greg Gard criticized his team’s mental response in a 28-point loss to the BYU Cougars, the two-time Big Ten head coach of the year is singing a different tune ahead of the holiday tournament.
“I didn’t like how we responded in the game, in terms of punching back enough, but I like how we’ve responded here in the last three days of practice,” Gard said in a press conference on Wednesday. “They’ve gotten after each other, which is a good sign. They’re very, very competitive.”
The lone bright spot from UW’s loss in Salt Lake City, Utah, Braeden Carrington, agreed, saying that since the defeat, the Badgers have had “probably the most competitive practices so far this season.”
“Everybody’s going at each other,” Carrington, who poured in 14 points on 4-5 three-point shooting against the Cougars, said in a mid-week interview. “We realize how good we can be, but we, obviously, we have to work for it.”
Wisconsin will have its work cut out for it in San Diego this week. UW opens tournament play against the Providence Friars, who Big East coaches picked to finish fourth in the conference in a preseason poll. Afterwards, the Badgers will face either the TCU Horned Frogs or the reigning national champion Florida Gators.
Find out who, what, why, when, where, and how to watch Wisconsin and Providence in the semifinals of the 2025 Rady Children’s Invitational on Thanksgiving Day.
Who to watch: Jason Edwards and Jaylin Sellers
The Friars run their offense through a veteran-laden backcourt. Seniors Jason Edwards and Jaylin Sellers provide a steady presence, limit turnovers, and can get to the free-throw line.
“They really revolve around those two,” Gard said.
In a pre-tournament media call on Wednesday, Providence head coach Kim English boasted that each Edwards and Sellers are enjoying their most-explosive offensive ratings to date, despite not finding their three-point shooting groove. As a team, the Friars rank 254th nationally, shooting just 30.6% from beyond the arc.
As a distributor, Edwards is “having the most success in his career,” ranking among the top-50 players in men’s Division I with a career-low 4.6 turnover rate.
Sellers, who missed all but three games a season ago due to a back injury “is healthy. He’s feeling good. His back is good,” English said.
“Those guys are getting better and better. And the better they get, the better our team will,” English added.
What to watch: Mental response from Wisconsin Badgers
In an interview after the loss to BYU, Badgers forward Nolan Winter recalled a non-conference result from his freshman season, when Wisconsin “had this exact same thing happen” in a road loss by 25 to the Arizona Wildcats.
Following that game, the Badgers won nine of their next 10 before reaching the Big Ten Tournament championship game and earning a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
“I know what we’re capable of,” Winter said. “I know what the coaching staff is going to be able to do with us. And I love this team, but we gotta take it upon ourselves, and really reflect and regroup as a team.”
If Providence, which plays at the 24th-quickest adjusted tempo in the country according to KenPom, races out to a lead, how the Badgers respond early could be crucial to preventing Wisconsin’s loss to BYU from snowballing.
“That’s the benefit of playing in these [tournaments],” Gard said Wednesday. “You’re gonna be tested and pushed in a time of the year, but maybe you’re not ready for it, but it’s going to expedite your learning. And it’s going to expedite your growth. That’s what, hopefully, we’ve expedited it last Friday night and now we’re ready to take another step forward.”
Why to watch: Feast Week’s finest
Wisconsin Badgers basketball and Thanksgiving are a match made in heaven. In the past 19 seasons, UW has competed in a November non-conference event 17 times. That participation has been marked by plenty of success, as the Badgers are 32-13 in November tournament games since 2005.
Now, at the Rady Children’s Invitational, Wisconsin looks to win a November tournament for the third straight year and the fourth time in five seasons. UW has won nine of its last ten games in November tournaments, capturing championships at the 2021 Maui Invitational, 2023 Fort Myers Tip-Off, and 2024 Greenbrier Tip-Off.
“You want really good events that are well run, and you want really good competition,” Gard said of how the Badgers choose which events to add to their schedule in a changing college basketball landscape. “And that’s why we chose this event, because we’ve heard nothing but great things about it. And, obviously, the competition we’re going to see is going to help us as we go through the year.”
Where, when, and how to watch Wisconsin basketball Thanksgiving tournament
Where: Jenny Craig Pavilion — University of San Diego — San Diego, California
When: Thursday, November 27th, 4:30 p.m. Central / 2:30 p.m. Pacific
Watch/TV/Streaming: Fox Sports 1 (Play-by-play: Cory Provus; Analyst: Donny Marshall)
Listen/Radio: Badger Sports Network / Sirius XM 139 or 196 (Play-by-play: Chris Vosters; Analyst: Brian Butch)
If you do not have rooting interest in the Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions game, or if you have a second screen, you can watch TCU vs. Florida tip-off on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 2:00 p.m. Central. Wisconsin and Providence follow at the conclusion of the first semifinal.
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