Preview: No.11 Wisconsin Faces First Road Test at No.5 Marquette

No.11 Wisconsin (8-1, 0-1 Big Ten) vs. No.5 Marquette (8-1, 0-0 Big East)

Date/Time – Saturday, December 7, 12:30 p.m.

Arena – Fiserv Forum (17,385)

Watch – FOX (Jeff Levering and Jim Jackson)

Radio – Badgers Radio Network (Matt Lepay and Brian Butch), Sirius 113 or 197, stream online on iHeartRadio.

Series – Wisconsin leads 71-59 (Marquette leads 41-30 in Milwaukee)

Last Meeting – Wisconsin won, 75-63, on Dec.2, 2023, in Madison

Follow Online: The Badgers’ Den

Twitter: @Badger_Blitz

Betting line: Marquette -2.5

Player to Watch: Klesmit is shooting career-worst overall (32.6 percent) and from three-point range (25.4). Over the last four games, Klesmit is 9-for-39 from the floor (23.1 percent) and 5-for-28 from the perimeter (17.9). In last season’s win over third-ranked Marquette, Klesmit scored 21 points (all in the first half).

Player to watch: With Chase Ross questionable with an ankle injury, freshman Royce Parham could see significant minutes. Against No.5 Iowa State Wednesday, Parham finished with a career-best 17 points, shooting 7-of-12 overall and 3-of-4 from behind the 3-point line. He also grabbed four rebounds and had a blocked shot in 23 minutes.

Wisconsin’s most played nonconference opponent, the Badgers and Golden Eagles have played every year but one since the 1958-59 season.

Marquette has met only DePaul more times (135) than Wisconsin in program history.

UW has won three straight games in the series, the longest streak by either team since Wisconsin won four straight from 1998-2001.

Saturday’s game will mark the first meeting since 2011 and just the 5th all-time in which both UW and MU have been ranked. The Badgers are 3-1 in such meetings.

In the Greg Gard era, UW is 5-3 vs. Marquette and averaged 76.4 ppg in those eight meetings. UW has scored at least 75 points and shot at least 42 percent from the field in each of the five wins.

UW has 13 victories over top-10 teams under Gard, which includes eight wins over top-five teams.

UW scored 79+ points in each of its first seven games, the longest such streak in school history. The Badgers are averaging 82.9 ppg, on pace to challenge the highest single-season scoring average in school history (1970-71 – 86.3 ppg).

Wisconsin is taking (26.2 3FGA) and making (9.0 3FG) 3-pointers over the first nine games. That’s UW’s highest average in both categories since the inception of the 3-point line in 1986-87.

Wisconsin is holding teams to 29.2 percent from 3-point range this season. Only one of UW’s last seven opponents hit 30 percent or better from deep (UTRGV).

Despite increased scoring and pace, the Badgers continue taking care of the basketball. UW is averaging 9.3 turnovers per game – best in the Big Ten.

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