MILWAUKEE—With numerous NBA scouts and a record-setting Bradley Center crowd in attendance, senior forward Alando Tucker led the UW men's basketball team to a 70-66 win over in-state rival Marquette Saturday.
For just the third time in 113 meetings, both the Badgers (9-1) and Golden Eagles (9-2) came into the matchup nationally ranked, and it was Tucker who led the way with 28 points and five rebounds, as the largest crowd ever to see a college basketball game in the state of Wisconsin (19,020) looked on.
""We just kept feeding the ball to Tucker because he had the hot hand,"" senior guard Kammron Taylor said following the game. ""He carried us.""
Tucker made 13-of-22 field goal attempts, and while the senior has shot better from the outside this season, he returned to his old game of scoring inside with drives, layups and three dunks.
Playing with the lead late in the game, UW held off a comeback from the Golden Eagles because Tucker could not be stopped. On two consecutive possessions, the senior found an easy lane to the hoop and converted both drives into scores.
""A lot of teams in that situation try to play to win ... they try to hold the ball,"" Tucker said. ""We need to stay on the attack. I was going to make them foul me or I was going to score.""
Tucker also scored the first field goal of the game, but a 7-0 Marquette run put the Badgers in an early hole. UW turned the ball over three times in the first four minutes, but the deficit wouldn't last long. Tucker got into a rhythm, leading Wisconsin on a 17-5 run and to a lead they would never relinquish.
""I thought our guys did a very good job,"" head coach Bo Ryan said. ""Even though we made some bad decisions ... they didn't get their heads down. They just kept bouncing back.""
Wisconsin had a season-high 22 turnovers in the game and only shot 50 percent from the free-throw line, very uncharacteristic for a team that has made more free throws than its opponents have attempted.
Overcoming those mistakes was largely done on the defensive side of the ball where Wisconsin held Marquette to 39 percent shooting. While MU sophomore guard Dominic James finished with 19 points, he was held to just two in the first half.
""A lot of credit goes to Mike Flowers,"" Taylor said. ""He's probably our best player and he just did a great job of not letting James get comfortable.""
Wisconsin also received a big boost from its bench, specifically sophomore forward Marcus Landry and freshman guard Trevon Hughes, who received significant minutes for the first time in his career. Landry had 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting, and had four blocks on the defensive end.
Meanwhile, Hughes played 18 minutes and ran the point, which allowed Taylor, who had 13 points, to find some more shots. Hughes contributed five rebounds and drew two charging calls.
""Trevon played a heck of a game today,"" Landry said. ""Everything was on point for him and he came and attacked and had some good passes. I'm really proud of him, being a freshman playing in a big game like this and stepping it up.""
Wisconsin shot 50 percent in the game, including 57 percent in the second half.
""It's very big. We played a ranked opponent that's a great team,"" said Tucker, referring to the victory. ""It shows a sign to me that the team is mature. Wisconsin is maturing as a program.""
UW will host UW-Milwaukee on Wednesday before No. 2 Pittsburgh visits the Kohl Center Saturday in another nationally televised matchup.
