STAT PACK: No.23 Wisconsin Downs Marquette, 89-76, for Bragging Rights
MADISON, Wis. – State bragging rights in college basketball will reside at 601 W. Dayton Street on the campus of the University of Wisconsin.
Making 12 of 14 field goals through the early stretches of the second half, No.23 Wisconsin ran away in the second half in its annual rivalry matchup to register an 89-76 triumph over Marquette.
Leading by three at halftime in what was an uneven offensive performance, Wisconsin (7-1) delivered the fireworks in the final 20 minutes, scoring 55 points on 70.4 percent shooting.
The winning streak is now five for the Badgers, who head into Wednesday’s Big Ten opener against Indiana with a lot of stream and momentum.
We take a closer look at the game in the BadgerBlitz StatPack.
- For the first time this season, Wisconsin put four players in double figures: Johnny Davis 25, Brad Davison 20, Steven Crowl 15, and Chucky Hepburn with a career-high 15. Wisconsin’s starting five outscored Marquette’s starters 80 to 36.
- UW got additional points from Lorne Bowman (5), Tyler Wahl (5), Ben Carlson (2), Jahcobi Neath (1), and Chris Vogt (1).
- In addition to the scoring, Hepburn added six assists and three steals. Crowl had a team-high eight rebounds as UW won that battle 35-32. Both teams had seven offensive rebounds, but UW had 12 second-chance points to Marquette’s five.
- Wisconsin shot 50.8 percent (31-for-61) for the game, 41.7 percent from 3-point range, and 73.9 percent (17-for-23) from the foul line.
- Playing its first true road game of the season, Marquette (7-2) got 14 points from Justin Lewis and 11 each from Darryl Morsell and Oso Ighodaro (all in the first half). The Golden Eagles shot 44.3 percent overall and 34.6 percent from 3-point range (9-for-26).
- The first half featured 11 lead changes and four ties.
- Hepburn started the game with flair. After hitting a 3-pointer for UW’s first field goal, Hepburn unleashed a sweet crossover on Lewis, penetrated the lane, and delivered a perfect behind-the-back pass to Crowl. The result was an open 3-pointer for Crowl and a 9-4 lead.
- Marquette 6-10 senior Kur Kuath picked up two fouls in the first 4:14, getting too much contact trying to block dunk attempts by Crowl and Davis. Of the Golden Eagles’ 41 blocks coming into the game, he had 25 of them.
- Even without Kuath, Wisconsin had issues finishing in the lane. Unofficially, the Badgers were 0-for-5 on their layups through the first 12 minutes and just 5-for-21 from the field. Much like Wednesday at Georgia Tech, UW never trailed by more than two because of its defense. Marquette was held without a point for 3:37 that coincided with UW’s struggles, going 0-for-6 on its shots.
- Wisconsin got hot at the right time, to take a 34-31 lead going into halftime. One of the highlights of the final few minutes was the defense of Hepburn on Marquette's guards to force a shot-clock violation right before half.
- The Badgers went six deep into their bench in the first half but managed to score only one point on four shot attempts. Marquette also went six deep but got 19 points from its reserves, including 11 from Ighodaro, who came in averaging 4.4 points per game.
- After an opening half where both offenses seem to grind, each team found a flow offensively. Marquette scored 7 of the first nine points in the second half but the Badgers made four of their first six shots and took a 43-40 lead into the first media timeout.
- While Marquette cooled off, Davis was just getting started. The sophomore scored or assisted on nine straight points for the Badgers, including a chest pass through traffic to an open Bowman for 3.
- When Wahl finished his own miss, Marquette went into a timeout missing its last five shots over 4:44. Extended further, the Golden Eagles missed six of seven shots as UW built its biggest lead (at that point) t0 11.
- Davis delivered a floating off-balanced layup out of the timeout and Hepburn delivered a perfect pump fake for an open layup, pushing UW’s lead to 15 after making 11 of 12 shots.
- Marquette chipped the deficit back to eight with 8:34 remaining, but the Badgers unleashed an 8-0 run – capped by Wahl’s 3-point play – to push the lead to 16 with 7:14 remaining.
- Davison delivered the dagger with 4:32 left. Getting behind the three defenders on an inbounds pass, Davison’s slight hesitation got Tyler Kolek off his feet. Davison delivered the bucket through contact, made the free throw, and put the Badgers up 82-63.
- Wisconsin opens Big Ten play Wednesday at home against Indiana, who won its conference opener Saturday at home against Nebraska. Tip is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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