Preview: Marquette at Wisconsin
MADISON, Wis. — The I-94 rivalry gets renewed on Saturday. For the 132nd time, Wisconsin (6-2) takes on Marquette (5-4) for in-state bragging rights. Badger Blitz previews and predicts Saturday’s non-conference matchup…
GAME INFO
Time: 1 p.m. CST
Where: Kohl Center (Madison, Wis.)
TV: FS1
Stream: Fox Sports Go
TV Crew: Jeff Levering, Laphonso Ellis
Series History: Wisconsin leads 71-60
Last Meeting: Marquette won 88-74 in 2024
Vegas Line: Wisconsin – 10.5
NUMBERS TO KNOW
3: Wisconsin has won three of the last four meetings over Marquette.
4: Greg Gard is 5-4 against the Golden Eagles.
9: Saturday marks just the ninth time since 1998 that UW and MU meet as unranked foes.
16: The Badgers have won 16 consecutive non-conference home games.
41: The Badgers own a 41-18 advantage over the Golden Eagles in Madison.
STARTING LINEUPS
MARQUETTE
G Nigel James Jr. (6-0 Fr.) – 12.3 ppg, 3.7 apg
G Chase Ross (6-5 Sr.) – 20.3 ppg, 4.0 apg
F Zaide Lowery (6-5 Jr.) – 9.0 ppg, 3.4 rpg
F Caedin Hamilton (6-9 So.) – 5.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg
F Ben Gold (6-11 Sr.) – 9.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg
WISCONSIN
G Nick Boyd (6-2 Sr.) – 20.9 ppg, 3.3 apg
G John Blackwell (6-4 Jr.) – 19.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg
G Andrew Rohde (6-6 Sr.) – 6.3 ppg, 2.8 apg
F Nolan Winter (7-0 Jr.) – 13.1 ppg, 9.4 rpg
F Aleksas Bieliauskas (6-10 Fr.) – 3.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg
WHAT TO WATCH
Can Wisconsin handle Marquette’s pressure?
The Golden Eagles should be licking their chops after seeing the TCU tape. The Horned Frogs forced a season-high 17 turnovers from the Badgers. MU enters Saturday, forcing nearly 16 turnovers per game, good for No. 24 in the country. 13.0 of those takeaways come on steals.
In last season’s loss, UW coughed the ball up 16 times at Fiserv Forum, while Marquette had just five turnovers.
PREDICTION
Bart Torvik gives Wisconsin an 82 percent chance of winning and predicts an 84-74 win for the Badgers.
Marquette has not embraced the transfer portal era, and it’s catching up to them. Head coach Shaka Smart has not taken a transfer since 2022. The Golden Eagles were very fortunate to beat Valparaiso in overtime in their last outing, a game they should have lost. MU has also had trouble with the likes of Southern and Central Michigan.
MU’s style could give UW trouble. The Badgers have been prone to turnovers against high-pressure teams and also struggled to keep downhill attacks away from the rim. However, at home, I’m going to bank on Wisconsin being able to protect the basketball. There’s also a huge difference in these teams offensively. The Golden Eagles shoot 31.4 percent from 3-point range, 42.6 percent from the field, and get just over 1.0 point per possession, all of which is outside the top 200 in college basketball.
I’m a little wary, just because the underdog has generally had most of the success in this series in recent memory. However, Wisconsin has just way too much firepower here. Marquette gives up 75 points or more, they are 1-4, with the lone win coming against Southern. One team, TCU, has been able to hold the Badgers to that, and it was a neutral-site game versus an elite defensive squad. MU is away from home and very middle-of-the-road defensively.
Wisconsin 86 Marquette 72
