Basketball: College Opening Day, Bledsoe Has First Practice With Bucks

It’s Opening Day for men’s college basketball, and three of the state’s four Division One teams are in action this (Friday) evening. Wisconsin opens against South Carolina State in Madison, as coach Greg Gard debuts a Badger team that returns just one starter from last year — preseason All Big Ten center Ethan Happ. Also, U-W Milwaukee hosts Division Three La Crosse in the season debut for new coach Pat Baldwin, the Panthers’ third bench leader in the last three years. The Marquette men open their 101st year of men’s hoops when they host Mount Saint Mary’s — and the U-W Milwaukee women will play their first game in the Preseason W-N-I-T when they take on Drake in Des Moines, Iowa. In the N-B-A, Eric Bledsoe had his first practice with the Milwaukee Bucks Thursday, and they’ll play at San Antonio this (Friday) evening.