Battle at The Bradley Center: Marquette Vs. Wisconsin

Marquette (6-1) and Wisconsin (6-1) will meet for the 115th time in their storied rivalry in Milwaukee on Saturday.

Buzz Williams may only be in his first season as Marquette head coach, but he understands what this rivalry means to residents of the Badger State.

“I know enough to know that it is important to a lot of people,” Williams. “It’s important to our alumni, to their alumni, to their players, to our players.”

But once again, the Golden Eagle who gets asked the most about this rivalry is Madison native Wesley Matthews.

“You know [this is a big game for me],” said Matthews. “It’s a lot of fun. You start to get to the middle of the season, you get the kinks out and you’re working to get better every day and then you got the Badgers coming to town.”

Matthews did get to have fun at last season’s contest, an 81-76 Marquette victory at the Kohl Center, and described it as one of the highlights of his career at Marquette.

“People don’t win at the Kohl Center,” Matthews said. “It’s a tough place to play. That definitely is one of the highlights though, being able to go back home and get one [win]. Especially after starting out 0-2 against them.“

This season’s installment once again features two teams with contrasting styles and opposing strengths.

“I think it will be a battle of wills on every possession,” said Williams. “Our team is built differently than theirs. Every possession will be a battle.”

One of the keys that Marquette will be focused on is pressuring Wisconsin’s guards to try and keep the ball out of the paint.

“We have to keep the ball out of the post whether we are playing Central Michigan or Wisconsin,” said Williams. “When the ball gets into the paint, that’s when we are most vulnerable. The best thing to do is to keep the ball as high on the floor as you can and make sure you have great ball pressure.”

This game should be another classic in a lasting rivalry.

GAME BREAKDOWN

Marquette

Marquette runs what most consider being a motion or continuity offense.   It is considered an equal opportunity offense because it is not strictly set plays and the players are supposed to read and react to the defense. 

So far this season, Marquette has excelled in this offense scoring 87.9 points-per-game, eighth in the nation.  The number one reason they have increased there scoring so much is that they have been getting baskets without taking time off the clock. 

They are 10th in the nation in getting to the free throw line. Overall Marquette is pretty similar to where they were efficiency-wise last season.  The only difference is that they are playing at a faster pace.

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