Preview Guide: Wisconsin men's basketball vs. Marquette
The Wisconsin Badgers recently dropped their second non-conference game of the 2022-2023 college basketball season against Wake Forest on Tuesday night, falling to 5-2 overall to begin the year.
After a few days of practice to potentially sharpen up their defense, Greg Gard and the men's basketball team will head East along I-94 for an in-state battle with the Marquette Golden Eagles on Saturday.
With both teams hoping to secure bragging rights for the year, here's a preview of what is to come this weekend in Milwaukee.
Game details and television information
- Wisconsin Badgers (5-2 overall) at Marquette Golden Eagles (6-2 overall)
- Tip time is set for 3:30 p.m. CST at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
- The game will be aired on FS1
- Radio coverage
- Live stats
Series history
The Wisconsin Badgers lead the longstanding series 69-59, including an 89-76 win at the Kohl Center a year ago. However, the Golden Eagles have won four of the last seven meetings, including back-to-back wins in Milwaukee.
The first time these two teams met was all the way back in 1917, and it is one of the top in-state rivalries in the country for teams that are not in the same conference.
Marquette season overview
The Golden Eagles got off to a 2-0 start to begin the year but then lost two of three games to Purdue and Mississippi State by a combined eight points. Since their 3-point loss to Mississippi State in Fort Myers (Fla.) as part of the Rocket Mortgage Tip-off, Marquette has won three in a row. While their lopsided wins over Georgia Tech and Chicago State were expected, their recent 26-point win over No. 6 Baylor was not. The Golden Eagles blew the Bears out of the Fiserv Forum behind a strong offensive showing by shooting 58% from the floor and 48% from three.
Winners of three straight games, Marquette is playing some excellent basketball of late, and their convincing win over Baylor was incredibly impressive as part of the Big 12-Big East Battle.
Top scorers
Wisconsin
- Tyler Wahl: 14.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.29 steals per game
- Chucky Hepburn: 11.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game
- Connor Essegian: 10 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.1 made threes per game
Marquette
- Olivier-Maxience Prosper: 14.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game
- Kam Jones: 14.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game
- David Joplin: 11.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game
The biggest question for Wisconsin
The Badgers came into their game against Wake Forest as a top-10 defense by allowing only 54 points per game, with Kansas scoring 69 points in overtime representing the highest scoring output on the year.
However, Wisconsin could not slow down the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest on Tuesday night, giving up a season-high 78 points in a loss. The game represented the first time since 2019 that the Badgers scored over 75 points and lost the contest, with most of the issues popping up on the defensive end.
So that begs the question, can Wisconsin get back to playing top-flight defense against the Golden Eagles?
Marquette comes into the game averaging 82 points per game this season and most recently put up 96 against a good Baylor team. The Badgers faltered late against Wake Forest by missing their final four shot attempts, but the defensive end will be the deciding factor on Saturday. Wisconsin wants to slow the game down and make it a defensive battle. Greg Gard's bunch does not want to get into a track meet, and the Badgers will need to do a much better job limiting dribble penetration than they did against Wake Forest.
Game Notes
- The annual game between Wisconsin and Marquette is known as the I-94 Rivalry.
- The past two meetings between the Badgers and Golden Eagles in Milwaukee have been decided by an average of 3.5 points, with Marquette winning by two in 2020 and in overtime in 2018.
- Wisconsin is averaging 64 points per game this season and limiting their opponents to 57 through the first seven games of the season.
- The Badgers have a 1.1 assist-to-turnover ratio this year and are averaging just over 10 assists per game this season.
- Marquette has four players from the state of Wisconsin on their roster: David Joplin (Brookfield), Caleb Kozinski (Milwaukee), Michael Kennedy (Mequon), and Jake Ciardo (Georgetown).
- Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard is looking to secure career victory No. 150 this weekend. He would become the fourth coach in program history to reach that milestone.
Related links:
- Wisconsin basketball signs three scholarship players on National Signing Day
- Game notes and top plays from Wisconsin's loss to Wake Forest
- Wisconsin wins third place in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas
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