It was an I-94 rivalry beatdown on Saturday, as the Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Marquette Golden Eagles 96-76 at the Kohl Center. Those 96 points are the most the Badgers have ever scored in the series.
In the first half, the Badgers were aided by poor shooting from Marquette, which held a shooting percentage under 20% at one point despite getting clean looks. While Marquette finished the game shooting 42%, they were a mere 9-of-29 from both behind the three-point line and at the foul line.
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Badgers players, and perhaps the fans for the matter, also frustrated Marquette star Chase Ross. Ross, who finished with 12 points on 4-of-13 shots from the floor, appeared rattled in this game. Near the end of the first half, Ross, while attempting a free throw, had the ball slip out of his hands. Because it was in the act of shooting, it counted as a missed free throw. In the second half, Jack Janicki fouled Ross on a drive to the basket. After the whistle, Ross tossed the ball at Janicki and received a flagrant foul.
All in all, it was a solid day for the Badgers, and it’s always good to beat Marquette.
Here are three things that stood out in Wisconsin’s win over the Golden Eagles on Saturday.
John Blackwell
Last year against Marquette, Blackwell, who did have 17 points, committed four turnovers in Wisconsin’s 88-74 loss in Milwaukee. This game was a much different story, as Blackwell scored 30 points on 8-of-17 shots from the floor. Saturday’s game marked the third time this season that Blackwell scored 30 or more points in a game.
As the FS1 crew stated in the second half, it’s John Blackwell’s world, and we are all just living in it.
Andrew Rohde
Rohde was a passing machine against Northwestern with nine assists on Wednesday, but against Marquette, he stepped up his scoring. The senior guard from Brookfield finished with 17 points, his highest scoring total this season, and gathered four steals.
While I would like Rohde to cut down on turnovers in the next game, it was another good game for the transfer from Virginia.
Wisconsin’s Frontcourt
I thought both Nolan Winter and Aleksas Bieliauskas had solid performances on Saturday. Winter accumulated only four rebounds against Northwestern, which was much too low for the junior forward. On Saturday, we saw Winter return to double-double territory with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
It’s Winter’s fifth double-double of the season. Bieliauskas has done well since being inserted into the starting lineup, and he had his best overall game as a Badger against Marquette.
The freshman forward collected his first double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, plus he connected on all three of his field-goal attempts.
