In a top-15 meeting last December in Milwaukee, Marquette got the better of Wisconsin. Behind an outstanding performance from Kam Jones, Marquette outscored Wisconsin 51-35 in the second half, giving Marquette their first victory in the series since 2020.
But with revenge on their minds, the Badgers (7-2) scored 96 points Saturday, the most they’ve ever scored against Marquette (5-5), and won by 20, the largest margin of victory in the series since 1952.
John Blackwell tallied 30 points for the second time in three games as Wisconsin proved they were too much for the spiralling Golden Eagles.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s game.
Rohde’s offensive ascension
We all know what Badgers guard Andrew Rohde can do on the defensive end. Night in and night out, the senior hounds opposing teams’ best ball handlers, refusing to show any signs of exhaustion. However, Rohde’s offensive play has been slightly underwhelming, at least in terms of scoring.
But against Marquette, Rohde was evidently more aggressive, scoring a season high 17 points, including three 3-pointers. He shot with confidence all night, even converting on a deep (Culver’s) logo three with 5:05 remaining in the first to bring the lead to 16. While Rohde entered the contest shooting just 26.7% from deep, his early struggles seem to be diminishing. Remember, he was over 41% from 3 last season at Virginia.
It wasn’t just Rohde’s outside shooting. His ability to finish through contact all night was something we haven’t seen enough. Of course, Rohde’s scoring reduced other aspects of his game. A great passer, Rohde tallied just one assist, down from a season-high nine against Northwestern. But posing himself as a scoring threat opened up opportunities for others, something Wisconsin will desperately need down the stretch.
The frontcourt
Blackwell, Rohde and Boyd enjoyed plenty of success, but Nolan Winter and Aleksas Bieliauskas completed the performance, both tallying double-doubles. While inefficient from the field, Winter (13 pts, 13 reb) eliminated Marquette’s second-chance opportunities, cleaning the glass with 10 defensive boards.
Since entering the starting lineup for Rapp, Bieliauskas played his best overall game with 11 points and 10 rebounds. While not known as a prolific 3-point shooter, the Lithuanian went 3-for-3 from deep, a pleasant surprise.
The bigs dominated in Wisconsin’s first four games, but against stronger teams like BYU and TCU, their efficiency decreased significantly. Still, dominating a strong defensive team like Marquette may restore the Badger bigs’ confidence going forward.
Energy
23º isn’t warm by any standards, but the Badger faithful braved the cold for a great turnout for the I-94 rivalry. Since most home games have either been against inferior competition or on weeknights, Saturday’s attendance far outshone any previous games by a wide margin.
The energy in the Kohl Center was infectious, igniting passion from Badger players, from the starters to the end of the bench.
Constant cheers and chirps rattled the Golden Eagles all day. Marquette’s Chase Ross (4-for-13 FG) fumbled the basketball going up for a free throw towards the end of the first half, resulting in a miss. It was one of their 10 misses from the charity stripe, going 9-for-19 overall. Marquette made just as many 3s as they did free throws.
Wisconsin’s domination gives them considerable momentum heading into their upcoming road trip to No. 23 Nebraska. At 9-0, the Cornhuskers are one of nine remaining unbeaten teams in college basketball. The Badgers will need to ride the winning wave into Lincoln on Wednesday, keeping their energy high in hopes of handing Nebraska their first loss.
