Wisconsin (5-2) vs. No. 3 Marquette (6-1)

Game: Saturday, Dec. 2 in the Kohl Center

Time: 11:30 A.M. CT

Watch: FOX

Listen: 1310 WIBA AM and 101.5 FM (Matt Lepay and Brian Butch on the call); stream online on iHeartRadio

Prediction: Marquette 72, Wisconsin 65

Follow Online: The Badgers' Den

Twitter: @Badger_Blitz

Betting line: Marquette -2.5 (according to ESPN BET)

No non-conference opponent on Wisconsin’s schedule looms larger on a year-by-year basis than the Marquette Golden Eagles.

They’ve met 124 times total, an annual matchup since 1958, which also makes Marquette the Badgers’ most played non-conference foe.

Wisconsin leads the series, 70-59, but the two teams are 6-6 in the past 12 matchups. The Badgers have won the previous two meetings, and could achieve the first three-game winning streak in the rivalry since they won four straight from 1998-01.

Simply put — there’s no other game like the I-94 rivalry for either team.

Despite the worse record, Wisconsin will at least enter with confidence, winning each of their past four games by an average of 16 points.

The primary factor for the Badgers’ recent success has been the reawakening of their front court, albeit against some smaller lineups.

Team-leader Tyler Wahl averaged 13.3 points in that span after a modest start to the season, while fellow big man Steven Crowl has been equally as valuable. The 7-footer put up 12.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game over the past four, while the pair has collectively shot 66.8%.

We’ve seen the opposite trajectory from lauded transfer A.J. Storr. He averaged 18.0 points over his first three games, yet has dropped to 13.0 in the recent four-game winning streak.

He’s still showing scoring prowess, just at a less-consistent rate. 11 of his 13 points against Western Illinois came in the first half. They’ve been able to win despite his relatively lower production, but his success is absolutely imperative if they want to take down a juggernaut like Marquette.

This is probably the best Marquette team in years. They haven’t been a top-three team in the AP Poll at any point since the 1977-78 season.

This Golden Eagles team will have a prime opportunity to earn coach Marquette Shaka Smart’s first win against the Badgers

They enter 6-1, with their only loss coming by three points against the now-No. 1 ranked Purdue Boilermakers in the Maui Invitational title game.

Marquette will give the Badgers’ defense their biggest challenge yet this season, as they’ve already scored 90+ points three times this season, and have won by an average of 15.5 points.

Smart’s defensive focus, combined with their new-found offensive power, have made the Golden Eagles a real-deal championship contender.

Last season, they won the Big East earned a No. 2 seed in last year’s NCAA Tournament, and returned most of their important pieces.

Marquette’s leading scorer from last season, guard Kam Jones, is doing the same this year. He’s averaging 16.0 points per game and has scored in double figures every single game this season, all on 50.6% shooting.

Yet Tyler Kolek has emerged as a near-equally reliable threat this season. The Rhode Island native began his career at George Mason, but has spent his past three seasons in Marquette slowly becoming one of their most important players

Kolek nearly doubled his points-per-game average between his sophomore and junior years (6.7 to 12.9), and is now the team’s second-leading scorer (13.9). The senior guard’s role in the offense is arguably greater than Jones, whoae 5.1 assists per game comfortably leads the team.

“They have done a good job taking care of the ball and it starts with the point guard (Kolek),” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. “And Kam Jones is 19 to 3 on assists to turnovers. That tells me they make good decisions. We aren’t necessarily built or are schemed to extend and have people produce a lot of turnovers. We’re more trying to force you into a difficult type of shot and create turnovers out of our defense.”

Wisconsin’s front court will deal with one of their toughest matchups yet this season. Oso Ighodaro is another senior whose improvements from last season have helped propel Marquette. The 6-foot-11 senior forward is averaging a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game, but has only grabbed seven total over his past two games.

The Badgers, like always, will look to attack the paint against a shorter lineup. The only other prominent rotation player above 6-foot-8 is New Zealand native Ben Gold, who also stands at 6-foot-11 and even recorded eight rebounds in their most recent game against Southern University.

Win or lose, the Badgers will quickly have to shake this one off and continue what is likely their toughest stretch in years. They’ll prepare to travel and face Michigan State on Tuesday, then No. 2 Arizona next Saturday.

Yet it all begins Saturday morning in the Kohl Center.

“We know we’ve got really good teams coming down the road here, starting with Saturday... But it’s still about making sure we’re trying to play the game as well as possible. I think the Florida trip was good for us,” Gard said after the recent win over Western Illinois. ”I think we did some really good things there. And then you have to carry it over and grow it. That will continue to be the challenge going forward."

_________________________________________________

*Chat about this article in The Badgers' Den

*Check out our videos, interviews, and Q&As on our YouTube channel

*Subscribe and listen to the BadgerBlitz.com podcast (as seen on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts)

*Follow us on Twitter: @McNamaraRivals, @TheBadgerNation, @RaulV45, @seamus_rohrer, @DonnieSlusher_

*Like us on Facebook