Wisconsin Basketball seeking revenge against Marquette

Wisconsin Basketball takes on Marquette this weekend in a marquee rivalry matchup. Can the Badgers avenge last year’s blowout loss?

Revenge is on the mind of Wisconsin basketball fans.

One of the lowest points of a miserable 2017-18 season came about a year ago when the struggling Badgers hosted their in-state rivals, the Marquette Golden Eagles, at the Kohl Center.

What ensued was an absolute disaster.

Behind big days from their high-scoring backcourt duo of Andrew Rowsey and Markus Howard, the Golden Eagles completely thumped the Badgers on their home court to a tune of 82-63. The Wisconsin/Marquette rivalry certainly has a long and storied history, and while it’s safe to say that it may mean more to Golden Eagles fans than it does to their counterparts, it is never fun to get embarrassed by “little brother”, as many Badgers fans consider Marquette, and especially at the Kohl Center.

Fast forward one year, and this Wisconsin team- currently ranked No. 12 in the nation- is in a great position to return the favor and take out Marquette in its brand new home at Fiserv Forum. That being said, the Golden Eagles are once again a very dangerous squad that looks more than capable of earning an NCAA Tournament berth a few months from now. Aside from the matchup with Virginia in the Battle 4 Atlantis, this will be Wisconsin’s biggest test to date.

Projected starters

No. 12 WISCONSIN (8-1)

G – D’Mitrik Trice – SO (17.0 ppg)

G – Brad Davison- SO (8.8 ppg)

F – Khalil Iverson – SR (5.2 ppg)

F – Nathan Reuvers – SO (6.8 ppg)

C – Ethan Happ – SR (17.7 ppg)

MARQUETTE (7-2)

G – Markus Howard – JR (22.4 ppg)

F – Sacar Anim – JR (7.0 ppg)

F – Sam Hauser – JR (14.2 ppg)

F – Joey Hauser – FR (10.2 ppg)

F – Theo John – SO (6.6 ppg)

Keys to the game and prediction

When the Golden Eagles are clicking, they can light up the scoreboard and hang with just about any team in the nation. For instance, they gave the current No. 2 team in the country, Kansas, all it could handle in a losing effort a few weeks ago. In addition, they took down Wisconsin’s predecessors at the No. 12 spot and one of the better defensive teams you will find in Kansas State last week.

The engine that makes Marquette go is scoring sensation Markus Howard. All the diminutive guard does is pour in points: he averages 22.4 of them per game and put up a ridiculous 45 against the Wildcats. Howard is far from the Golden Eagles’ only weapon: the Hauser brothers, Sam and Joey, are both versatile scorers who average double figures. If those three get hot together, Wisconsin will almost certainly lose.

Somewhat surprisingly, however, Marquette’s overall offensive numbers this season will not blow you away. They are mere 152nd amongst Division I teams in field goal percentage, and even with snipers like Howard and Sam Hauser on the roster, they rank just 170th in three-point percentage. That being said, the Golden Eagles get off a lot of threes, and their 80 makes are good for 64th in the nation.

Marquette is not likely to have it easy offensively against Wisconsin, who has been rock-solid on defense this season. Greg Gard’s squad currently ranks 79th in opponent field goal percentage, including 87th in two-point percentage.

However, Marquette is no slouch on the less glamorous end of the court, either. The Golden Eagles are an impressive 47th in opponent field goal percentage and 22nd in two-point field goal percentage.

This game is going to come down to which team can do the most damage from behind the arc, as neither squad does a great job of keeping opponents from converting from three. Marquette has two of the nation’s best shooters in Sam Hauser and Howard, but Wisconsin has shooters as well, specifically D’Mitrik Trice, who is shooting an astounding 60% from long range.

It’s going to be another nail-biting contest throughout. However, I fear the Golden Eagles will feed off of a raucous crowd at Fiserv Forum and really get rolling offensively, going on a couple of big scoring runs that will ultimately prove to be too difficult for the Badgers, who have gotten off to sluggish starts in the first halves of their last few games, to keep up with.

It pains me to say, but I’m picking Marquette to beat “big brother” for the second straight season, with a final score of 80-74.

All stats courtesy of Sports-Reference.com