No. 5 Marquette men’s basketball has not bested its in-state rival No. 11 Wisconsin since Dec. 4, 2020.
This means that head coach Shaka Smart has yet to notch a win against Wisconsin since he was hired. And no one on the Golden Eagles’ roster has ever tasted the sweet taste of victory after facing one of their long-standing foes.
This Saturday, Marquette (8-1) has the chance to check these things off its bucket list as it faces Wisconsin (8-1) at Fiserv Forum in a top-15 showdown.
Battered and beaten Golden Eagles
Marquette is undefeated no longer.
In their most recent contest, the Golden Eagles’ havoc defense couldn’t carry them to the finish line as they were defeated by the No. 6 Iowa State Cyclones 81-70 at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.
“From our standpoint, not enough violence, not enough assertive aggressiveness,” Smart said after the game. “Allowed them to be the team that played with more force. Not enough deflections.”
There were both positives and negatives to take away from Wednesday for the Golden Eagles.
The bad news: an already-hampered Marquette roster — Sean Jones (no return date) and Zaide Lowery (OUT for Saturday) — lost another one of its key players in junior guard Chase Ross, who suffered a left ankle injury in the first half. He is listed as doubtful for Saturday’s game, per Marquette’s game notes.
The good news: first-year forwards Royce Parham and Damarius Owens combined for 28 points, with Parham adding a career-high 17 points on 3-for-4 shooting from beyond the arc. With Lowery and possibly Ross sidelined, the first-years will have another opportunity to step up in a big way.
Marquette’s defense averages 11.4 steals per game, which ranks third in the nation and is almost double the amount of steals Wisconsin averages. It will need to replicate the same energy it produced during the 10-0 run that helped the Golden Eagles even the game at 61 on Wednesday. The Cyclones were held scoreless for over three minutes during that run.
Wisconsin looking to bounce back
After getting out to its best start since the 2013-14 season, the Badgers are also coming off their first loss of the season, falling to Michigan 67-64 Tuesday night at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin shot a season-low 22.2 percent from the 3-point line and 34.4 percent from the field in the loss. In its last three games, it has netted just 21-of-77 (27.3%) treys.
However, its primary offensive threat is graduate student guard John Tonje, who averages 22.3 points per game, ranking ninth in the nation. He has scored in double figures in every game this season for the Badgers.
The Omaha, Nebraska native also gets to the free throw line at a high rate and has attempted 79 so far, which ranks third in the country. He has missed just five (93.7%).
Locking him up will certainly have to be a priority for the Golden Eagles, but the Badgers’ roster also boasts two 7-foot forwards in graduate student Steven Crowl (7.8 ppg) and sophomore Nolan Winter (9.4 ppg) that can’t be overlooked.
Sophomore guard John Blackwell (15.0 ppg) and senior guard Max Klesmit (11.1 ppg) round out the starting lineup. The duo combined for 24 points in the loss to Michigan.
How to follow
Watch: FOX will feature the broadcast with Jeff Levering (play-by-play) and Jim Jackson (analyst) on the call. Tip-off is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. CST.
Live updates: Follow @JackAlbrightMU, @MikeySeversonMU and @MUWireSports on Twitter/X.
Radio: Trevor Hilson and Max Mullin will have the call live on Marquette University Radio.
This preview was written by Kaylynn Wright. She can be reached at kaylynn.wright@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @KaylynnWrightMU.