No. 2 Wisconsin traveled East on I-94 looking to rebound from it’s loss to Duke on Wednesday night. Taking on rival Marquette got the Badgers attention, as UW (8-1) took advantage of some big runs and timely defense to pull out a 49-38 win.
It was clear the Badgers had a major height advantage going in to the matchup, and Marquette (4-4) tried to combat it with going almost exclusively zone defense. All it did was showcase the spacing and passing skill that every Badger possesses.
Wisconsin finished with 13 assists on 17 made field goals, turning the ball over 11 times though.
UW took advantage of collapsing defense inside, kicking it out for open shots on the outside all game long. That’s where senior Josh Gasser came in handy, as he hit four three pointers on the day for all 12 of his points.
Frank Kaminsky also helped kill the zone with a double double of 15 points and 10 rebounds. He also added four steals and three blocks on the defensive side of the game.
Marquette didn’t go down without a fight though, as senior guard Matt Carlino led all scorers with 18 points on 6 of 11 shooting, including 3 of 5 from beyond the arc.
It wasn’t just the offense that was impressive, as the effort on the defensive end was nearly night and day from Wednesday night against the Blue Devils. No bigger example of that happened than just how cold Marquette was from the field in the first half, shooting just 28.6 percent from the field.
Or the fact that UW managed to shut down the rest of the Golden Eagles outside of Carlino, with no one else scoring more than six points on the day.
Wisconsin held Marquette without a field goal for a seven-minute stretch of the first half, eventually pulling ahead 17-7. However, the Golden Eagles responded back with a six-point run of their own to make it 17-13 with just under five minutes to play in the half.
The Badgers showed just why they were up by 10 in the first place, as they immediately turned a pair of Golden Eagle turnovers in to back-to-back three point baskets and a 23-13 lead with three minutes, 49 seconds to play.
It remained a 10-point Badgers lead the rest of the way, as UW went in to the half up 25-15. It was the lowest first half point total for a Golden Eagle team this season and tied for the fewest points by a Badger opponent in a half (Northern Kentucky in the season opener).
The second half and an eerily similar feel to it, as Marquette made an early run out of the half, cutting UW’s lead to 25-22. Only, once again the Badgers answered back with a 7-1 run to keep a good distance from the Golden Eagles (that’s their nickname…it hasn’t changed once again, right?).
Marquette made another run, cutting UW’s lead down to 35-32 with a 10-3 run with just eight minutes, 57 seconds left in the contest. Once again, the Badgers found a way to scrap ahead thanks to a 9-0 run to push the lead back to double digits.
With 3:57 left to play, the Badgers held a 44-33 lead, and thanks to Marquette’s extended zone in the halfcourt the Badgers managed to ran the shot clock down and kill this game off.
It was far from pretty, as UW shot just 32.7 percent from the field and Marquette was held to 28.9 percent shooting as well.
Badger of the Game: Frank Kaminsky
This was an easy choice. He led the team in scoring, had a double-double and managed also lead the team in steals and assists. Kaminsky was the zone-buster in a big way and he hit the game-clinching three with 50 seconds left to go in the game.
Key to the Win: Answering Runs
Wisconsin and Marquette battled hard in this one, but the difference is that UW was able to absorb any run the Golden Eagles threw at them and extended their lead with an equal or better run on many occasions.
Each half featured at least two big attempts to get back in the game by Marquette, only to see the Badgers slam the door shut each and every time. The lead didn’t change hands but once, as Wisconsin took a 4-3 lead with 17:39 left in the first half and never lost it the rest of the game despite multiple runs of 7 points or more.
Up Next: at Milwaukee —Wednesday, Dec. 10 (8pm CT ;TV: ESPN2)
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