The Wisconsin-Marquette rivalry never needs extra juice. Every year when the Badgers and Golden Eagles lock up, basketball fans across Wisconsin are captivated. But when the two teams match up Saturday in Milwaukee, there's a little more on the line.
Both the Badgers (8-1) and the Golden Eagles (9-1) are viewed at as Final Four contenders. Ranked 11th and 17th in the AP Poll, tomorrow's matchup, UW's first true road game of the year, isn't just for bragging rights for that given day, but possibly for the entire season.
""For us to have the notoriety we have gained this year with the media, they're going to look to prove something,"" said senior forward Alando Tucker, who leads the Big Ten with 19.3 points per game. ""Whoever wins this game proves to be the better team in Wisconsin.""
Tucker's scoring prowess may be what fuels the Badgers, but it will be the defensive play of Wisconsin's backcourt that is the key to victory. The Badgers have given up 25 3-pointers in their two last games, including last game's three-point victory over Winthrop, when they allowed the Torrell Martin led ball-club to shoot 60 percent from behind the arc.
To make matters worse, Marquette has no shortage of perimeter weapons. The Golden Eagles' three leading scorers, Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews, who battled against the Badgers' Michael Flowers in high school, all average at least 12 points per game.
For Flowers, who said he will most likely match up with James or whoever is hottest at the time, and backcourt mate Kammron Taylor, Saturday's game will be a real test for where they rank in terms of guard duos.
""That's going to a be a big challenge too and we can definitely see where we are, because a lot of people think that Marquette has one of the best backcourts in the nation,"" the junior guard said. ""If we prove ourselves against them, then we have that feeling that we beat one of the best.""
The Golden Eagles have defeated Duke this season, but two games ago saw their undefeated mark quashed when they were beaten at home by North Dakota State, an opponent the Badgers are all too familiar with. Wisconsin lost 62-55 to the unranked and Div I-AA Bison in January of last season, which proved to be the turning point in the Badgers' season. Before that game UW was 14-3, and after sported an ugly record of 5-8.
Tucker and the rest of the Badgers said they know how much the Bison loss will be on the minds of the Marquette players.
""The North Dakota State loss is going to anger them even more,"" Tucker said. ""They're going to come out with more energy. Losing to a team you feel you could have beaten, you always want to come back and prove something.""
The Badgers, on the other hand, are coming off an 82-79 overtime victory over Winthrop, in which they were one more Martin 3-pointer away from suffering a loss (he made a Kohl Center record seven 3-pointers that night).
Wisconsin can use the way they closed out the game at the end of regulation and in the extra period, as opposed to the manner in which they ended in the loss to Missouri State, as motivation and can carry that energy to Saturday's battle in Milwaukee.
""The more games that you have that come down to the wire, it's better for your team. We understand how we have to close out now,"" Tucker said. ""Just looking at the energy that the guys brought to come out with a victory, that definitely plays big in our confidence.""
Either way, the Badgers and Golden Eagles will surely put on a show.
""This game's for bragging rights. It's going to be a physical game,"" Flowers said. ""It's going to be a fun game to play in and I bet you it'll be a fun game to watch.""
