I'm sure Badger fans didn't miss it, but in case you did—the Bison struck again.
Marquette is the latest victim of the now infamous North Dakota State men's basketball team as the Bison upset the Golden Eagles 64-60 at the Bradley Center over the weekend.
""They have a thing against Wisconsin teams,"" UW senior forward Alando Tucker said about NDSU Monday night.
Tucker has brought up last year's 62-55 loss to North Dakota State numerous times this season claiming it taught the team to take every opponent seriously. That showed as recently as Monday night as the Badgers were able to hold off a very good Winthrop team that was so hot from beyond the arc they could have shot 60 percent blindfolded.
Now Marquette will have the opportunity to grow from their loss to the Bison, but what was once a possible Top 10 matchup between Wisconsin and Marquette is now a battle between two good teams who will now battle to determine who is second to North Dakota State and who is third.
Actually, I'm not kidding. These mid-majors actually think they belong with the big boys, and why not if they prove it on the floor?
Even after Winthrop lost to Wisconsin Monday, Eagles head coach Gregg Marshall said, ""I think Wisconsin moved up to No. 11 today, so we're 11b.""
More accurately, Winthrop is No. 6 in the Mid-Major Top 25, a mid-major coaches' poll posted on CollegeInsider.com. Meanwhile, North Dakota State is No. 22 in the same poll.
The point here is that Marquette and Wisconsin are two very good teams that have one loss to a solid mid-major (Missouri State is No. 4 in the Mid-Major Top 25). And instead of whining over these losses, coaches and players at good programs around the nation are realizing that they can regroup and turn those losses into successful seasons.
Wisconsin wasn't able to do that last season, but that was because they weren't quite the team they are now. That actually excuses their loss to North Dakota State a little bit more than Marquette's because while UW was ranked No. 15 when the Bison beat them, they weren't really that good. And while Marquette might not really be the No. 8 team they were last week, they have a great argument for being just as good as the Badgers.
Wisconsin has had the benefit of almost 11 months to learn from their loss to the Bison, while Marquette will have only had week when the two Wisconsin teams tip-off at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Bradley Center.
Tom Crean is great head coach, however, and the Golden Eagles will rebound.
What's more important is that both teams are Final Four contenders this season and know better than to dwell on losses to teams like Missouri State and North Dakota State.
Instead they will be concentrating on bragging rights and keeping their one-loss records intact on Saturday.
In recent years this series has boasted only one star (Dwayne Wade, Devin Harris, Travis Diener, Alando Tucker), and the team that had that star won the game. This year things are different as each team has a star surrounded by a complete team worthy of national recognition.
The end result? All fans in Wisconsin, whether wearing cardinal or gold, will be treated to a great basketball game Saturday afternoon.
If you are as excited as Adam is to finally see these two teams play each other, email hoge@dailycardinal.com.
