Despite a gritty, back-and-forth first half and then subsequently trailing 39-37 at the intermission against rival No. 11 Wisconsin, No. 5 Marquette men’s basketball (9-1,) was able to secure a convincing 88-74 win over the Badgers (8-2, 0-1 Big Ten) in front of a record crowd (18,107) at Fiserv Forum.
The win marks the first time Marquette has beaten Wisconsin in the Shaka Smart era, with their last victory over the Badgers occurring during the 2020-21 season.
Kam Jones propels Marquette’s second half storm
With 13 points at half, and the Golden Eagles down two, senior guard Kam Jones took matters into his own hands by posting his second 32-point game of the season, with his first in the season opener against Stony Brook. Additionally, he put in three baskets from downtown, six assists, four steals and two rebounds. He even converted a four-point-play along the way, with 12 minutes remaining in the game on a corner three. After that, the Golden Eagles never relinquished control of the contest.
Jones said that a point of emphasis for improvement this past summer, was for him to play at a high level from start to finish.
“That’s something that Coach Smart and I were big on in the offseason, in my previous years here I’ve had a lot of good halves, and what we wanted to grow in was having good games,” Jones said. “So, meaning you have a good first half, now you go to the locker room, now it’s not your time to think everything is cool and not staying aggressive.”
Limiting the free throw opportunities
A key factor in the first half scoring for both sides was free throw shooting, with Wisconsin shooting 11-for-12, and graduate student guard John Tonje frequently stepping up to the charity stripe, going 7-for-8 in the opening 20 minutes.
Tonje was absent from the free throw line in the second half, as Marquette cut Wisconsin’s free throw attempts in half in the second frame. Defensively, Marquette forced 16 turnovers from Wisconsin, while only giving up five themselves.
Ben Gold’s presence beyond the box score
Despite the Golden Eagles having four players finishing in double digit scoring (Kam Jones, David Joplin, Stevie Mitchell and Chase Ross), junior forward Ben Gold’s impact on the game was evident when he found sophomore guard Tre Norman in the paint with a behind-the-back pass with seven and a half minutes remaining to fortify a double-digit lead.
BG with the behind-the-back
pic.twitter.com/WCqrsgmY0i
— Marquette Basketball (@MarquetteMBB) December 7, 2024
Gold finished with nine points, five rebounds, four assists and a block, but head coach Shaka Smart says that his greatest contributions for the team didn’t come via the stat sheet.
“He has probably the most important trait one can have, which is humility,” Smart said. “But you see that growing through our first ten games, I love on that play, there was a willingness on his part to drive, which he was hesitant with that at Iowa State.
“He drove, he drew help and then made a heads up play to throw behind his back. You know, we call him a big guard with the initials B.G., he really is that, he’s 6-foot-10, and he plays the five spot for us, but man, he’s like a guard and he can be a playmaker.”
This article was written by Mikey Severson; he can be reached at michael.severson@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @MikeySeversonMU