MILWAUKEE, Wis. - In some games all it takes is one player finding a rhythm to completely change the complexion of the contest. In Saturday's in-state bout between Marquette and Wisconsin, that one player was most certainly not wearing red.
Playing their second consecutive game in a hostile environment, the Badgers fell 61-58 to Marquette in the Bradley Center in front of 18,895 raucous fans. The Golden Eagles trailed by six at the half, but a 21-8 run, powered by Marquette senior swingman Jerel McNeal, gave the Eagles a lead they would not relinquish.
[McNeal] was definitely feeling it,"" Wisconsin senior forward Joe Krabbenhoft said. ""I just gotta give credit to him. He was making tough shots. We were switching off and had a hand in his face. He just made plays.""
McNeal scored 19 of his 26 points after the break, including a stretch of 12 straight at one point, as Marquette made its run. Most of his shots came on similar sets, which the Badgers seemed unable to stop.
""It looked like the same set because it was,"" McNeal said. ""That's how [MU coach Buzz Williams] is. If something's working, like I said, he just put the ball in my hands coming off the pick-and-roll. It wasn't anything complicated, just a double high ball screen '¦ I [would] just come off and make plays whether it be for me or my teammates.""
Wisconsin shot a better percentage than the Golden Eagles in both halves but was undone by turnovers and offensive rebounds. The smaller Eagles captured 10 offensive rebounds after halftime and had the game's leading rebounder in junior forward Lazar Hayward.
After the game, both players and coaches for Wisconsin stressed the opportunities they missed during Marquette's run.
""We scored two points on nine possessions. It hurts,"" Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan said. ""We lose the lead and they get the lead and we play from behind on the road, things you don't like to do. When you have to, you try to get it done.""
Ryan pointed to one miscue where Krabbenhoft barely stepped out of bounds as just one example of his team missing an opening.
""If the guy has a half a size foot smaller, who knows? At least we get a shot,"" Ryan said.
Wisconsin started strong, leading 22-12 after 13 minutes, but the Eagles whittled it away as the half came to a close. Junior guard Trévon Hughes, UW's leading scorer with 14 points, drove in for a wide-open lay-up with three seconds on the clock to put the halftime score at 33-27.
The Badgers kept Marquette at bay for the first four minutes of the second before McNeal ignited the Eagle run.
After Marquette established a nine-point
lead the Badgers made an attempt to come back, but it was too little, too late.
Although the Badgers received little production from their two seniors (Krabbenhoft and forward Marcus Landry combined for nine points), several underclassmen had productive days.
Sophomore forward Keaton Nankivil hit a pair of jump shots and a dunk and was the team's second leading scorer with 11 points. After the game, Ryan praised his work in boxing out Marquette's quicker players.
""He did some really nice things, for a sophomore. The first time logging those type of minutes in a game like that,"" Ryan said.
Sophomore forward Jon Leuer chipped in eight points while true freshman Rob Wilson had seven points and five rebounds in a career-high 20 minutes.
The Badgers were coming off a difficult road win over Virginia Tech, but fell to Marquette for the second consecutive year. After Marquette's 81-76 victory in the Kohl Center last December, Wisconsin went 25-3 after that loss and wound up Big Ten champion.
""We were in this position last year as a team; we didn't come out on the left-hand side last year, but from that point on, and we got better,"" Landry said. ""We will get in the gym tomorrow and deal with what's next.""
