Badgers Defeat No. 3 Marquette 75-64: Here’s What Stood Out
Wisconsin men's basketball wins the I-94 Rivalry and downs Marquette.
In the 130th rendition of the I-94 Rivarly, Greg Gard and the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team (6-2) took down Shaka Smart and the No. 3 Marquette Golden Eagles 75-64 at the Kohl Center on Saturday.
The Badgers extended the program’s all-time series lead over the “other” in-state school to 71-59 — in a rivalry that dates all the way back to 1917.
This was the seventh top-5 AP win for the Badgers during the Gard era, and Wisconsin has now won three straight games against Marquette, including four of the last five matchups overall.
“The environment, the atmosphere, the fans were all terrific,” Coach Gard said during his post-game press conference.
Here are a few things that stood out from the Wisconsin Badgers win over Shaka Smart and the No. 3 Marquette Golden Eagles.
Wisconsin Knocked Down Its Free-Throws
The Wisconsin basketball team entered Saturday’s contest, shooting 74.6% from the free-throw line — good for No. 62 in the country. Against Marquette, the Badgers got to the free-throw line early & often — and, more importantly, made them.
UW hit 17-of-19 attempts (89.5%) from the charity stripe in the first half and finished 24-of-28 (85.7%) overall. It was the Badgers’ best shooting clip the team has had all season when attempting 20+ free throws — and the best shooting percentage when taking 25+ in a game since November 2018 against Coppin State.
Wisconsin never trailed against Marquette — and their aggressiveness and consistency from the free throw line were big reasons why.
The Badgers Murdered Marquette on the Glass
In the last three games, Wisconsin basketball has shown a consistent pattern that persisted during the Marquette game on Saturday: a strong emphasis on crashing the boards and rebounding with conviction.
The Badgers crushed the Golden Eagles in the rebounding battle 38-23 — and parlayed that into an 18-2 advantage in second-chance points. Tyler Wahl and Steven Crowl chipped in four offensive rebounds apiece, followed by two from both AJ Storr and Carter Gilmore.